Rip Out The Wings
by DaggersBloodPain
Summary: fem-slash: Harry finds out the Light has kept one large secret from HER. When betrayals come out of the shadows she runs to the one person she trusts, who will lead her into a dark love. Bellatrix/Harry, LV/SS
1. Of A Butterfly

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Summary:**fem-slash: When Harry finds out that everything is not as it seems, and there has been many secrets hidden about who he is and where he came from. She must get used to her new body and mind, while training her power as much as she can in order to survive the dangerous choice she made to be the woman she had been born to be. Finding parents in former enemies, and a lover she never imagined having, confuse her and push her to new heights of power and pleasure. The final show down has arrived to decide the fate of the world and the woman destined to either save or condemn it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter and any delusions I may have had went away when I woke up.

**Rating: M for femslash, violence, betrayal, and completely consensual sex between an adult and a minor, both females, and mentions of past Mpreg.**

**A/N ** I want anyone reading this to know I am not your typical 'fangirl' author, because I may be female but I am about as straight as a circle, thus I do know what I am talking about when it comes to girl/girl love, first hand in most cases.

**Chapter One**

**Of A Butterfly**

"Your potions should be in the finishing stages, those of you not finished in the next ten minutes shall be given a zero for today's potion." The vicious voice of the most feared professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Severus Snape, washed over his class of sixth year Gryffindor/Slytherins. He was thinking, yet again, the Headmaster must be getting senile just by pushing those two volatile houses together.

The students struggled to complete their potions in the designated time. This potion was a tricky one, yet it had a simple purpose, it could look through any other potion or spell and tell the true appearance of someone. The procedure was simple, a suspect was fed the potion, waited five minutes then dropped three drops of blood onto a piece of clean parchment. It gave completely accurate readings of height/weight/gender/and age. This was typically given to criminals or suspects thought to be hiding who they really were.

No one was struggling more than one Harry Potter to finish. Despite Harry harboring a grudging respect for the man who saved his life on a number of occasions, he knew Severus was out for his blood in classes. Harry knew the wizard would not hesitate to do something nasty to him if he finished late.

This drove him to complete his potion with exactly ten seconds to go and it even looked like Hermione's! He might get a decent mark for this one.

"All of you standing behind a completed potion, to achieve full marks, you must test the potion on yourself. If brewed correctly it will not harm you." Snape's voice rang out again.

With great trepidation Harry followed the procedure _exactly_ as it was outlined in his book. He hated giving up his blood ever since the third task. He grudgingly gave the three drops and looked at the results.

_1.57m_ 'Funny could have sworn I was taller?'

_46.7kg_ 'I can't be that tiny!'

_16 years_ 'Well at least I got one right.'

_Female_ 'WHAT!'

"Umm, Professor is it possible for this potion to be partially correct?" Harry asked hesitantly, asking questions was typically a bad idea in Snape's class, but this was important.

"If you had done your homework you would know. No Potter, the potion is either right or wrong, never partial, or it could not be used by the ministry for fear of a slightly wrong reading letting a criminal go free." Snape explained acerbically as he descended on the shell shocked Gryffindor.

"Then please explain this?" Harry asked quietly as he pushed the page with its results towards the now even paler dungeon master.

"Class dismissed, I will collect your readings next class, Potter stay." Snape ordered harshly and within 15 seconds the classroom was empty save for the Potion's master and the Golden Boy. The rest of the trio terrified into leaving as well.

Snape checked Harry's potion over meticulously seeing if the brat had managed the impossible and created a partially correct potion. He hadn't, the only thing he noted was the potion was slightly thicker than it should have been, and that only increased the potency of the potion.

"What does this mean Sir?" Harry asked too frightened to be combative.

"It means you are not what you appear to be. Whatever spells were placed on you must have been done by a powerful wizard, probably soon after your birth, otherwise your frequent trips to the infirmary would have revealed this sooner." Snape managed to answer the question without showing any of the surprise he felt at the unusual reading.

"So you are saying I'm a girl and didn't know it?" A hint of hysteria entered his voice, and he couldn't quell the nervous shaking.

"Yes, we need to go to the Headmaster. Now!" He ordered decisively.

Harry was in too much shock to protest the order and gathered up his things on autopilot before following Snape out of the dungeons and up to the Headmaster's office. Snape gave the password to the gargoyle and practically herded the frightened Gryffindor onto the moving staircase.

"Ah Severus, Harry, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Tea? Lemon drop?" The aged man asked and offered.

Both men declined the sweet but accepted the cups of calming tea Dumbledore had conjured.

"As you know I had my NEWT students brewing the Revealing potion this class, and Potter here managed to make a discovery." Snape started to explain, but stopped to take a sip of tea.

"Go on Severus, I doubt you brought Mr. Potter up here to tell me he managed to brew a potion correctly." Dumbledore urged.

"It seems the Boy-Who-Lived is no boy." Snape said shortly as he passed over the piece of parchment that contained Harry's results.

Dumbledore looked over the parchment with a growing frown. The normally present twinkle in his eyes naught but a memory. "Harry I am sorry but no one can know of this. Has anyone seen these results?" He asked gravely.

"Only the Professor and myself," Harry answered holding onto his teacup like it was a life line.

"Very well," Dumbledore said with relief.

"Sir, why do we have to keep this secret? If this potion is correct, and I trust Professor Snape's word on that, than I am truly a different person. Why do I have to hide that?" Harry asked curiously. The prospect of not being who he thought he was honestly scared the hell out of him, but to hide it almost frightened him more. Secrets smaller than this had gotten people killed in the past.

"Surely you don't want to give up your old life for a complete unknown?" Dumbledore asked carefully.

"That was not the question Headmaster. I want to know why I have to hide? Do not twist my words around to get me to believe I chose to hide when no choice was given." Harry would never have dreamed of saying that to the Headmaster had it been earlier in his schooling but after the last year, and the shocks in it, he had changed.

"I cannot tell you yet, you are not ready for it." Dumbledore said in his kindly old grandfather voice.

"Bollocks, I'm sorry Headmaster, but that is not good enough anymore. After your love of secrets cost me Sirius I need more than that." Harry said angrily, and than it hit him. "This is about your precious prophecy isn't it?" He said staggering under the weight of the revelation, and if he hadn't already been sitting down he would have fallen, especially when his claim wasn't denied.

"Potter show some respect!" Snape yelled reminding the shell shocked teen of his presence.

"With all due courtesy Professor I believe the situation calls for it. How would you feel if you were told to hide what you really are just to please some Old man's schemes? You of all people should understand." Harry defended with a pointed look at Snape's left arm.

Severus unconsciously covered his Mark with his right hand and stayed silent, the brat's comments had hit home.

"Now Harry, that is no way to speak to your Professor." Dumbledore chided in a much gentler manner than Snape, but the result was far more explosive.

"You have no right to chastise me! You have failed to answer a simple inquiry and until you do, I do not have to show you respect." He hissed.

"You are right of course, the Prophecy plays a role, but I truly do want you happy." Dumbledore attempted to soothe rumpled feathers.

"What does the prophecy have to do with the fact I'm a girl, oh..." Harry left off as the answer to his question hit him like a brick wall. The exact wording of the Prophecy said HE would have the power the Dark Lord knew not. So either they had the wrong boy-who-lived or it was a fake.

"The prophecy is about a male with the ability to defeat the Dark Lord, I am not male. You do not want my true gender known because it proves you either made a mistake choosing me, or are a fraud who likes endangering children. Which is it Dumbledore? Were you wrong about me, the prophecy, or is there something deeper going on?" Harry challenged, he honestly didn't know because the original prophecy broke before Harry could hear it, his only knowledge of it came from Dumbledore.

"Harry please let me explain! You did vanquish Voldemort, and I had no knowledge of your true gender, can you forgive an old man's mistake?" Dumbledore defended.

"I could believe you if I didn't know you were lying." Harry snapped.

"Why would you believe that?" Dumbledore asked.

"Because, she is right." This came from the last person Harry would ever think was on his side, Snape.

"Now Severus, why are you filling his head with lies?" Dumbledore said with disapproval.

"First of all I am not filling his head with lies, for that to happen Potter would have to be a he. I think you mean why am I calling you on it, and to be short I don't like what is under your shields." Snape defended despite the fact he was defending his once most hated student. As much as he hated to admit it Potter had been right, he did know what it was like as a pawn in Dumbledore's game, and he would not leave her to the fate he saw at the hands of the Headmaster.

"One more word Severus and I will have you thrown in Azkaban." Dumbledore threatened with cold eyes.

"I would not threaten him if I were you. Azkaban is not the place for those that speak the truth. I _will_ find out what you have hidden from me and the decision on how to live my life will be mine alone." Harry emphatically defended Snape to the Headmaster in the same way the professor has stood up for him. Harry left the room at the end of the her rant, and the only thing that followed was the swish of Snape's cloak as he left the office as well.


	2. Breaking The Habit

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Two**

**Breaking the Habit**

Harry could not believe what he just heard. The Headmaster really and truly was just using him. Their was no other explanation to what had just happened. The old manipulator and finally shown his true colors, and he couldn't have chosen a worse time to do it, because now the most powerful wizard on the Light side was royally pissed off at him.

It is not that Harry was thrilled with the fact he was a girl and wanted to immediately go through the hassle of assuming his true form, it was the opposite actually. The thing that was pissing him off was that he was given no choice!

His whole life had been run by people who thought they knew what was best. They had done a pretty good job of screwing it up so far. He had nearly died every year since he started at Hogwarts and many before that! The Dursleys were no picnic and no wizard had ever checked up on him, and if they had they had left him in that Hell hole anyway. They had gotten people killed in front of his eyes, Hell he had killed a person when he was eleven years old. No one had even brought it up since, but it was his touch on Quirrell's skin that had killed his old Professor and he knew it. If it weren't for Harry he would still be alive, but Voldemort would have risen too soon and much stronger. It was a justifiable murder but it was still killing.

The Light side was not looking so light anymore. They put blood on the hands of a child and didn't even bother to help him clean it off. They just patted him on the head, told him he did a good job, and sent him back to Hell. It was the same story for every year and he was just plain sick of it. Maybe it was time to make his own decisions.

He could not do this alone, it would be too overwhelming to do it without help. He did not have a long list of people that he was willing to ask for help. Even less of those had the power to help him with this.

First of all it had to be an adult, they needed to have full access to their magic to try and get the charms/potions off of him to reveal his true self. He thought Hermione might be able to do it, but she wouldn't know where to start, and was restrained in where she could look for information.

Second, they had to have alliances that put them a fair distance from Dumbledore's pocket. He needed whoever helped him to be able to stand with him against the Headmaster when the time came to continue his education.

Third and probably the hardest condition was he had to trust them. He had precious little trust in people, especially adult authority figures, that letting go and trusting this person to do what needed to be done and stop before going too far was just next to impossible.

The first condition eliminated all of his friends except for Hagrid, he was much too noticeable for something like this, and the last half of the first condition immediately disqualified him as he was not allowed to practice magic. The second condition eliminated all of the older Weasleys. Dumbledore had done a lot for their family, they would stick together rather than risk it all to help him, a stray who just wandered in and put them in danger over and over again. Professor McGonagall was out, she was too much a stickler for the rules, if she felt it was her duty to inform the Headmaster of his plans she would do it without consulting him. Madame Pomfrey was a possibility but Harry cared too much for the kindly nurse to make her risk what she had going for her.

The third condition only left two people still breathing that could help him. One of which he was unsure if he would be willing to help at all. Remus was a strong possibility, he was magically powerful enough and had done enough research to know how to help, and he trusted him with his life. The werewolf had saved him from jumping through the veil after Sirius and Harry wasn't about to forget that anytime soon. There was only one thing that made him a bad choice. He was still recovering from Sirius's death himself, Harry was not sure how he would handle the news his best friend's son wasn't who he thought he was. The last thing Harry wanted to do was cause him pain.

The last and final option was Harry's least favorite but actually had the best shot of succeeding. There was one adult who had the magic and knowledge to help, the murky allegiance needed, and his trust. The problem was this one hated his guts. Yet not ten minutes ago he had been defending him against the Headmaster.

That probably had more to do with the Professor's shock at his astute comments. Whether or not Snape would help him defy the Headmaster directly was something he wasn't positive about. Something instinctual told him even if he wouldn't help he might keep his attempts quiet so he could look for other options without worrying about looking behind his shoulder at every turn.

Now just how was he supposed to go about asking him without getting some nasty potion slipped into his pumpkin juice? There had to be a way, but it was alluding him. After all how would you like it if the son of your school day rival wanted you to risk your very life and freedom to help him?

A letter? No, too easy to intercept. Detention? Viable but he would rather avoid that if he could, he wanted Snape in the best mood possible and getting him riled up was not the way to do it. Just suck it up already and go talk to him? That sounded way too rash even for his Gryffindor side to handle. His Slytherin side would way prefer a softer approach but there didn't seem to be a subtle way to go about it, maybe this once his impulsive side was right.

With that thought he headed down towards the dungeons and Snape's office. Hopefully the Professor was there after their meeting with the headmaster. Harry was just glad Potions had been his last class period of the day or this overly brave stunt would not be workable.

The door to Snape's office was the most menacing thing in Harry's life at the time when he finally reached it. He was about to get the answer to his problem or the rejection of his life, and he really wasn't sure which one he was going for. Taking a deep breath he raised his hand and knocked solidly three times; then stood back to wait for a response.


	3. Bring Me To Life

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Three**

**Bring Me To Life**

"This better be important!" Snape's voice was harsher than usual coming through the thick door. If Harry was honest with himself he would admit he nearly lost his nerve right there.

But he wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing.

He walked into the office to see his professor seated behind his desk leaning over a stack of parchments, essays if he had to guess, but the quill in his hand wasn't moving and the cap was still on the bottle of red ink. It looked like Snape was just staring at the pages lost in thought.

"Well I don't have all day, what do you need?" He asked sharply finally raising his eyes from the parchments.

"Your help," Harry answered simply, he just didn't have the nerve for a more erudite response.

"And why should I help you?" With that sentence Harry's hopes were dashed.

Wait a second, he actually asked a question instead of throwing him out immediately. He was giving him a chance!

"In all honesty I don't know. You have no reason to help me. My father treated you like vermin, and my godfather nearly got you killed or worse. You didn't hate my mother, but you didn't part on the best terms either. I can only ask and hope you will notice I am not those people, I don't even know who _I_ am anymore. Not to mention if you help me now I will owe you a debt." Harry answered slowly and cautiously.

Snape raised his eyebrow in interest. "There may be some hope for you yet Potter. Just what would this debt involve?"

"I would owe you something of equal value, this is priceless to me, name the task and I will do it." Harry replied knowing that was probably too much leeway but he needed Snape's help too much to fight him on it.

"Do you know what I could do to you with that kind of promise?" He asked, looking like he was actually interested in the answer.

"Yes," Harry answered managing to keep his voice level.

"How bad do you want my help? I could take you to the Headmaster right now... or even the Dark Lord. How much are you willing to gamble?" Snape baited.

"I'm willing to give up everything, for too long others have been running my life. It is my turn to make a choice, and I chose to be who I was born to be, whoever that may be." Harry replied, matching Snape's ire with firm resolve.

"I will help you, but only if you swear on your magic to uphold your debt." Snape agreed, almost too easily, but Harry wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"I, Harry Potter swear on my magic to uphold the debt owed to Severus Snape." Harry said shortly, the spark of magic flying between the two of them confirming the oath.

"Now how do we remove whatever is hiding my true appearance?" Harry asked getting straight to the point.

"First we have to find out what is hiding it. Removing a glamour is much different from removing a potion." Snape said going into Professor mode, but in a non-frightening way that Harry found fascinating.

"What is the difference?" He asked curiously. He was pleasantly surprised when he got an answer.

"Glamour charms hide the surface characteristics, potions alter the body on a much deeper level." Snape answered distractedly, already working out what it could be. "I believe we are dealing with a potion, if it was a charm you would have had some sign that you were not as you appeared. Unfortunately most permanent appearance altering potions have a specific antidote there is no single reversal potion."

"How many different potions could have caused this?" Harry asked daunted by the task of figuring this out.

"About twenty, that were available 16 years ago." Snape replied.

"Anything that could narrow that down a bit?" He asked.

"Well, it would have to have a long life without having to be reapplied." Snape started.

"I don't think we can do that. You are working under the assumption this was a one time deal. It is possible that the person who did this to me in the first place is close enough to have given me another dose. It had to have lasted at least ten years though because that's how long I was at the Dursleys. They hate me enough that even the thought of poisoning me would not have made them give me anything to eat or drink large enough to contain a dose of potion without me noticing." Harry explained.

"Wait a minute, just how little were you fed?" Snape asked.

"It doesn't matter we have something more important to deal with right now." Harry avoided.

"You are not pulling that on me. Answer the question." Snape ordered.

"Not very much, obviously I survived, so it wasn't that bad." Harry answered with a sigh.

Snape dropped the topic but he didn't forget it. "Back to what we are looking for. There is a potion that will reveal every potion you have ever taken, but with your astounding record for hospital wing visits it will be a last resort." He explained.

"Is there a way to make the potion more specific? I would have had to have taken it within the first few days after I was born. Can we work off of that?" Harry wondered grasping at straws.

"Possibly, If we give you a half dose it should only pick up the stronger potions, and something that has hidden you this well for that long will be picked up." Snape said after a bit of thought.

"How complicated is the potion to brew?" Harry asked having no clue.

"It isn't so much complicated as time consuming. It requires several ingredients to be stewed for an extended period of time." Snape responded.

"Like Polyjuice." Harry commented under his breath.

It wasn't low enough, "I knew it was you who got in my stores." Snape broke in.

"Don't you think you are giving my potion's making skills too much credit? I wasn't the one who got in your stores, I was just the one to create the diversion." Harry answered honestly.

Snape sighed, "Well there isn't much I can do about it now. I can have the potion for you in three weeks time."

"Thank you Professor." Harry said gratefully.


	4. Call Me When Your Sober

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Four**

**Call Me When Your Sober**

Harry was heading up to Gryffindor tower before he had really registered leaving Snape's office. His feet followed the well worn path with ease as his mind drifted. He was going to have to tell his friends. He couldn't just disappear without explanation. He owed them that much. Then again, this was something they may not agree with. They had become friends with Harry Potter not this strange girl. I mean he didn't even know who he was, how could he expect them to handle it when he was barely hanging on?

He knew what their reactions were going to be. Hermione would treat him like a research project, heading to the library every chance she got to discover what happened to him instead of letting Snape handle it. Ron would flip, thinking Harry had betrayed him, he would come around eventually but seriously Harry did not know how much more of that he could take before he rejected Ron completely. Ginny now she was going to be a problem. He thought he loved her, but if he was truly a girl would that change? Would she still want to be with him as a girl or was he going to loose her too?

Why did this kind of thing always happen to him? Who did he piss off in a past life so much that his life now had to be utter Hell? He knew there was such a thing as true happiness, but he had yet to find it. He had a semblance of a normal life with his friends, but let's face it his friends weren't typical either. His first female friend was a shy bookworm, and his first ever friend was a pureblood who acted like a muggleborn but took magic for granted, and the girl he was dating had a crush on him since she heard the stories about him growing up. Nope not typical at all.

He had no idea how politics worked in this world, he only had very vague knowledge of the laws, and what he did know was very biased. He was supposed to save this world, but how do you save something you have no connection to? If the Prophecy was true than it wasn't even him that held that destiny. He had put up with the rampant mood swings of the populace for some mumbled words that didn't even concern him.

Wait, if the prophecy was wrong then what did happen to his parents? How did he defeat Voldemort if he wasn't the boy who lived? Yes his mother had died for him, but she wasn't the only one who had, there had to be something deeper at work so what was it? Dumbledore had been hiding something from him during the meeting, Harry was swift enough to catch onto that. What was it! What was so important that Dumbledore actually dropped his image and threatened Snape in front of him? He was deflecting both of them from asking the right questions, questions he didn't want to, or couldn't, answer.

"Password?" The Fat Lady's voice broke him out of his thoughts as he finally reached Gryffindor tower.

"Flamel," Harry answered and the portrait swung open. That was just what he needed right now, to be reminded of the stone, not.

"Harry! Whats wrong? Why did Snape keep you back? It was your potion wasn't it? Why did you have to ask if it was possible to be partially correct?" Hermione's voice met his ears at a mile a minute.

"Hermione slow down! One at a time please." Harry replied with a small smile at her antics. "First, nothing is wrong so much as different. Second, yes there was an issue with my potion and Snape took me to the Headmaster to get things sorted out."

"Well what was it?" Ron asked shortly going straight to the point.

"Well for once I actually managed to make the potion correctly, unfortunately it showed too much, but I don't want to say more here. Where is Ginny? You all need to hear this." He explained.

"She went up to her dorm for something. I will go get her and meet you up in your dorm." Hermione answered as she got up to get Ginny, understanding what Harry needed to say was important.

Harry walked up to the dorm with Ron right beside him, pestering Harry to tell him already.

"No Ron, this is going to be hard enough to do once, please, don't make me say it more." Harry pleaded.

"But Mate surely it can't be that bad? I'm going to find out anyway. Why can't you just tell me?" Ron asked seemingly having not heard a word Harry had said.

"Yes it can Ron, this is going to be really hard, so just wait." Harry tried again and this time seemed to have gotten through because Ron fell silent.

In much too short a time for Harry's nerves, and too long for Ron's patience, the girls arrived. Ginny immediately coming to his side and leaning against him, Hermione sat cross legged on the end of his bed while Ron sat on his own bed next to Harry's.

"Well Harry what was so important?" Ron asked again.

Harry sighed and answered. "The potion came out to say I was female." He answered bluntly.

To his surprise Ron laughed. "You mean you were so worried about telling us you made a mistake and embarrassed yourself in front of Snape?"

"No Ron, I made the potion correctly, this isn't a joke. I think I really am a girl." Harry answered holding onto his hopes.

"Harry how could you not know something like that!" Ginny asked startled and panicked, jumping away from his side as if his touch burned.

"They used a potion when I was very young, at least that is what Snape and I think happened." He replied.

"Wait a minute, Snape? What does he have to do with this!" Ron cried and Harry figured he should have known that would be the thing that Ron would get stuck on rather than the bigger issue.

"I made a deal with him so he would help me figure this out and remove the potion." Harry figured lying now wouldn't help.

"You want to change into a girl? Don't you think you might want to ask me first?" Ginny asked a little calmer before, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"Ginny its not like I just up and want to turn into a girl. I already am one, it is my true form, not the male me. I am sorry but I need to be myself, even if I do not like it right now, I do not think I could just pick up and go on knowing I am something different. Look what happened when people found out I am a Parseltongue, if they ever found out I knew I was a girl and hid it I would never get a moment's peace. You know I hate the attention." He tried to reason it out.

"Harry I understand, I just hope you know that I will not be able to talk to you for awhile. This is just too much." She answered woodenly and left the room before anyone could stop her, though no one really tried.

"I am sorry to do this to her but I don't really have a choice." He said quietly, now alone with his two oldest friends.

"I need to go look after my sister," Ron said coldly as he left the room.

"I think I just lost both of them." He said sadly.

"Oh Harry, Ginny said she understood, I don't think you have lost her forever, and Ron is always doing this he will be back." Hermione assured, than she saw the look on his face. "You do want them to come back don't you?"

"Ginny? Yes I really didn't want to do this to her, the best thing I could have done was tell her and get it over with, and that is what I did. Ron though, he didn't have any reason to react the way he did. I forgave him in fourth year, but how many times are we going to be left waiting for him to come back? I can't do that, I have too much else to worry about." Harry answered her.

"Well, I just have one question," Hermione started.

"Go on," Harry urged, half afraid of what she was going to ask.

"Why did you go to Snape? I didn't think you would do that." She asked curiously.

Harry was relieved at that question and easily explained to her his reasoning behind the choice.

"I can't say I like the sounds of the debt, but I understand why you did it. I just hope you know what you are doing Harry, please be careful, I can't lose you too." She finally replied after she had some time to think.

"Thank you Hermione, and I know what I am doing. It was a gamble, but I don't think he would hurt me just to hurt me. He is going to use the debt to the fullest of its potential, and I don't see him wasting it on petty revenge." Harry assured.

"I agree with that, but I still want you to be careful." She accepted.

"I will be." Harry agreed.

"Good." She responded with a smile.


	5. You Can Let Go Now Daddy

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Five**

**You Can Let Go Now Daddy**

Harry was feeling optimistic after his talk with Hermione. He had one of his friends on his side at least. It was a good feeling to know he wasn't completely abandoned. He should have known it would be the ever logical Hermione who understood his plight.

There was still the Ron issue to deal with. He had no doubt that Hermione was right, Ron would come back to him eventually, but was he ready to forgive? This was not the first time the red head had flipped out for something Harry had absolutely no control over. Was it so wrong of him to not want to live a lie?

It was time for him to stop being such a doormat. He was no longer at the Dursleys. He was at Hogwarts now. He did not have to worry about his so called relatives finding and hurting his friends. He needed to stand up for himself and get friends who actually gave a damn about him, not his name. Ron was the first person to be nice to him, but did that make him the best friend he could have had? No, it just made him the first.

If he was going to start making changes in his life than he might as well get everything over with at once. He needed to become the person he was born to be, not this shadow of a human, with no true heritage and nothing but a hollow existence.

With that thought he felt a sharp burst of pain flow through his chest scorching his nerves. It was unlike anything he had ever felt including the Cruciatus curse. Something was very wrong. He felt like he was dying.

"HARRY! What's wrong? Are you alright? What's happening?" Hermione screamed as she panicked.

"Snape.. now.. something's wrong." Harry said as coherently as he could through the pain. This was definitely not a normal aliment, he assumed it most likely was a result of whatever was hiding him, and that meant he needed Snape.

"Snape? Why him? Wouldn't you rather go to Pomfrey?" She asked still panicked.

"No.. need Snape…please Hermione? Hurts." He stuttered out.

"Alright Harry, let's get you to Professor Snape." Hermione finally agreed and helped Harry to his feet she let her friend rest most of his, admittedly, too light weight on her.

The trip to the Dungeons was long and awkward. They had to avoid being seen by too many students in the main halls, and they really had to avoid running into any Slytherins once they got deeper into the depths of the castle.

Hermione knocked hurriedly on the door to Snape's office, waiting impatiently for her Professor's response, before leading the nearly comatose Harry into the office.

"What happened?" He asked reaching his two students in the blink of an eye.

"I am not sure, we had been talking, and he went silent for awhile. After about fifteen minutes of quiet he started to grab his chest and go pale as if he was in a lot of pain. When I asked him what was wrong he wanted to be brought to you." Hermione explained clearly, her previous panic evaporating with the presence of someone who might be able to help Harry.

Snape was running his wand up and down Harry's still form. "His vitals are unstable, his heart is racing and his lungs are not pulling enough air. I assume he has told you of what he learned in potions?" Snape asked with a sneer thinking about overly trusting Gryffindors.

"Only Ron, Ginny, and I, He wasn't ready for others to know. Why is that important?" She couldn't understand why he had asked that after telling her Harry was in trouble.

"I believe the source of his pain is his body rejecting the potions he was fed as a child, though I have no idea what triggered it. I needed to know if you were aware of the truth, or I would have ordered you to leave the room. If he completely rejects the potions he will become who she was born to be." Snape surprisingly took the time to answer.

"I want to stay, no offense intended Professor, but he was in a lot of pain. He is going to want to see a friendly face or he will have a flashback." Hermione said adamantly.

"Flash back to what exactly?" Snape asked in a tone that couldn't be ignored. That was the second time it was mentioned that Potter had something he was hiding.

"He hasn't told us everything. Most of what I know, I learned from watching him, and piecing together what little he does say. He wasn't treated very well at his relatives' house. By the looks of him at the beginning of every year they starve him, and Ron mentioned that he never changes in front of the other boys, not even after Quidditch practice. He flinches when someone touches him, and jumps at loud noises he doesn't know are coming. Oh, and he has severe nightmares." Hermione told Snape only what she was sure of, she could guess a lot more, but she was positive he didn't want to hear her conjectures. He wanted the truth.

Severus said nothing in response to Hermione's revelations. He didn't feel the need to tell her what he thought. It sounded like Potter had been abused, but that would mean he had been wrong about him, and he was not quite ready to admit that yet. Potter needed to prove himself a bit more before he could feel comfortable admitting he might have made a mistake.

Harry groaned deeply as the pain tore at him in a violent crescendo. It felt like his body was melting like candle wax stuck in hot flame. It was worse than Polyjuice potion and the Cruciatus curse put together. He couldn't speak, it was taking all of his strength just to take in breaths and even that wasn't done very well. He didn't cry out, not even when he felt his anatomy reshaping itself out of the puddle of melted wax his nerves seemed to think he had become. He was grateful as he finally slipped into warm darkness, whether he had passed out or the process was done he didn't know, and at that moment didn't care.

Hermione sat by her friend's side holding Harry's hand as she saw his muscles clench in response to the pain. She could see his body changing and remolding itself. She was vaguely aware of Snape's near constant scans of Harry as they waited. There was nothing the potions master could do to ease the suffering because he was still not sure what potion Harry was rejecting, anything he could possibly give could have a negative reaction, and make the situation worse.

They both watched on, one anxious the other curious, as the changes became more pronounced. His body was loosing height and mass, the firm muscle structure gave way to the soft curves of a female's body, her face shifted into more graceful lines as her eyelashes lengthened, her hair grew down to her shoulders colored a pure ebony with no traces of Lily's red that had previously been in his hair, and lastly the tan of his skin faded to a naturally pale tone.

Hermione thought her new features reminded her of someone, but she couldn't place who it was. It had to have been someone she had seen before but only very briefly.

Severus was painfully aware of just who she now looked like. He was shocked silent as he looked at her. The face, the eyes, and even her elegantly crafted hands, told the story of who she was. His only thought was: How? How had this happened and he not know about it? He just kept staring down at her. She looked like a feminine version of the Dark Lord, but there was something else, some of her features matched a different person and his breath caught.

When she finally woke up he was met with the onyx rimmed crimson eyes of his daughter.

His, and the Dark Lord's.


	6. Somebody's Eyes

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Six**

**Somebody's Eyes**

"What happened?" She asked as she opened her eyes, the pain finally gone, at least for now.

"Your body rejected the potions. You now look like you should." Hermione answered after she realized Snape was still too shocked to speak.

"Can you conjure a mirror?" She asked.

Hermione easily complied and Harry was soon looking at her true self in the mirror. Her face became ghost pale as she recognized her features, and more importantly realized that more than one secret had been hidden from her. The question was who had been the one to do it? What had happened?

"Professor, can you explain this?" She asked shakily assuming he would have answers.

"I don't know how this happened. I do know who I can ask though. Two people as a matter of fact. Miss Granger can you take her and get her more comfortable? I am going to speak with the Headmaster. He might be able to tell me something, and if he can't, I know who I need to ask." Snape ordered as he left his office heading for Dumbledore's.

Hermione was left with the girl who once was, and still might be, her best friend. "Are you alright Harry? Is the pain gone? What has you and Professor Snape so spooked?" She asked at a moderate pace.

"I have been better but I do think we should work on the name thing. Harry just isn't my name anymore. I am still a little sore but it doesn't hurt. I know what has me spooked, and I have an idea about what has him upset, but I need him to confirm it." She answered calmly and Hermione was struck by the difference between her and the old Harry.

"Well, what is upsetting you?" Hermione asked again.

"I know who I look like, and it isn't James and Lily Potter." Harry answered quietly.

"Who is it, you look familiar but I can't place it?" Hermione inquired.

"I figured that would be the case, you were in the hospital wing when we went into the chamber, I look like Tom Riddle. Hermione he was the one who became Voldemort. I look like the Dark Lord." She explained. Hesitating a bit before deciding against telling her there were features she had Riddle didn't, but someone else they knew did.

"What happened then? Why were you placed with the Potters if they weren't your parents. Wouldn't someone have noticed that they suddenly had a child and Lily was never pregnant?" She voiced the same concerns Harry had.

"I don't know Hermione, but I think Snape is trying to find out. If the Headmaster can't, or wont, answer he will go to the Dark Lord, that is the only other person who might know what happened." She replied as the calm once again settled over her.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Albus, what really happened that Halloween? I knew you wouldn't say anything with the brat-who-lived here, but I must admit, I am curious?" Severus asked, his skill at spying coming in handy now.

"One of my more brilliant plans, and Harry must never know, understood?" Dumbledore started as the threat hung heavily in the air between them.

"You know I won't say a word. I hate the brat!" Severus defended himself, but felt a slight wince of guilt when he realized it was his own daughter he had treated so horribly.

"No one knows this but myself and the girl's 'mother' you see Voldemort was not brought down childless. He had borne an heir, rumor has it he carried the heir himself. I knew that only the most powerful of wizards or witches could produce a child with a member of the same gender, and that those children would be immensely powerful themselves." Dumbledore began to answer the original question only to be interrupted.

"How did you find this out? If the Dark Lord was the only one who knew of the child. Who told you?" He asked wondering who he had to kill.

"I had an informant very close to Voldemort. He really should have kept a better eye on his house elves. I managed to slip one of the Hogwarts' elves into his hideout and she told me the news. Now, as you can tell, I couldn't just let the opportunity pass. After the child had been born, mere hours later, I had my elf steal the child and bring it here. Imagine my surprise upon discovering the child the Dark Lord birthed was female.

The Potters had just had a stillborn son not long before I had Voldemort's heir in my hands. I used the boys DNA to create an appearance altering potion. I may not be as good a brewer as you but I knew enough to manage it. I gave it to the girl, but soon learned I had gotten the formula too harsh, the child screamed for hours. It did work though and for that I was glad. I handed the baby to Lily Potter and told her he had been a war orphan and needed a good home." Dumbledore answered proud of his plan.

"I don't understand Albus, if you had the heir of Voldemort in your hands, why didn't you kill her?" Severus asked taking iron control over his anger.

"I knew the child would have enough power that if we raised her in the Light she could bring down her father. I had Cybil fake the prophecy in return for her post here at the school. I needed to have a reason Harry needed training, especially after the Halloween debacle" Dumbledore explained.

"So what happened on Halloween? Did you just throw away Lily's life on a gamble the girl would survive?" Severus asked stunned.

"All that was supposed to happen was either the girl was killed at the hands of her father, or her magic would win, and Voldemort would be defeated. James and Lily were never supposed to die. Pettigrew was supposed to get them to leave the night of the attack, but it didn't work. That rat switched sides at the last minute hoping to get in Voldemort's good graces by handing him the Potters on a silver platter. Fortunately the girl won out or our world would be doomed. So you see Harry can never know. He is the daughter of Voldemort, and the only one with enough power to kill him. If he turns from the Light there is no way we can win this war. I don't think you want another stay in Azkaban do you?" Dumbledore finished.

Severus was appalled, completely and utterly disgusted, the leader of the Light had thrown the future of the war in the hands of chance. He was thrilled that his daughter was so strong, but the cost, it was too much. He knew there was a reason he never fully trusted Dumbledore. This was the final straw, he was not going to be Albus' pet any longer, but he needed to get his daughter and anyone that could be used to hurt her to safety first.

It was time to go back to the one he loved. The madness must have receded somewhat by now, maybe the return of their lost daughter would be just enough to snap him back to sanity. He left the headmaster's office with a nod to Dumbledore. He could not afford to clue him into his change of allegiance just yet, not until she was safe.

He found the two girls still in his office, but Hermione had helped the exhausted Harry conjure up and change into better fitting clothing. He was surprised to see the bookworm was gently brushing his daughter's ebony hair in a comforting gesture.

"Did you find out what you needed to?" His daughter asked and he was hit with the fact he had a daughter once again, this was reality, and she wasn't going anywhere.

"I spoke with the Headmaster and I got his side of the story, I can not tell it to you without you oaths of silence." Snape answered and they both obediently took the oaths. With a deep breath he told them the whole story from beginning to end, finishing with, "If you have anyone close enough to be used to hurt you, have miss Granger go retrieve them now I am getting you out of here."

After talking quietly with Hermione for a few minutes they nodded in agreement and she left to go find the people she had listed.

"I know you were just trying to get her out of the way. So are you going to tell me how it is possible for me to look like Riddle and you, or am I going to have to guess?"

"You are my daughter, but you were carried by him, hence the extreme resemblance between you and him. I did not know you even existed until that potion wore off, but that doesn't change the fact you are mine." He explained as bluntly as he dared, dancing around a topic had never been his favorite thing to do.

"Where are we going to go?" She asked not really having to, she had a pretty good idea.

"I am going to talk to your other father while you explain things to your friends, if all goes to plan, we will go to him. I am calling in your debt for this, you are going to have to trust me to know what I am doing." He explained.

"Alright, but why are you going alone? Shouldn't I be with you?" She asked showing remarkable control for just learning she may have to go live with her mortal enemy, who just happened to be one of her fathers.

"I do not want you there for this. I do not know the reason he never told me about you. I will be back for you soon enough." He ordered directly. He was unsure of his daughter's safety where the Dark Lord was concerned but he knew, with the potion gone, he was their best chance.

"Wait what about my name?" She asked before he could leave.

"I think we should wait until after I have talked to him for that, he might have already named you before Dumbledore took you." Snape replied with some thought.

"Be safe, father." She said quietly as he left the room to find his mask and get to the aparation point. She hadn't wanted to admit it out loud just yet but she already felt so much better than when she was Harry. This form just felt right and the knowledge of her parentage, honestly, didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. It might not have been too high on the self preservation ladder but she trusted Snape and it was more than the oath that did it. Even calling him Snape in her head was hitting a sour chord in her soul, it had just been so natural to call him father, reverting to last name basis hurt, but she had no idea what he wanted to be called.

She hadn't realized Severus hadn't closed the door yet when she spoke, he heard her call him father, not fifteen minutes after being told the truth. He wondered when the shock of the situation was finally going to hit her, but a tiny part of him hoped his daughter had the strength to take the changes in stride.

He focused on the ever present energy of the Dark Mark and apparated to his Lord's side.

"Snape, to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?" Voldemort asked coldly, and Severus realized he had landed in the Lord's study.

"I have some information that concerns you, but we do not have a great deal of time, permission to speak bluntly?" Severus said with the right amount of submission.

"Permission granted, but it better be worth my time!" He warned as he visually picked up his wand off the desk.

"Our daughter is alive and at Hogwarts," Severus said finding no way of easing into the subject, Voldemort would either accept it or reject it.

"That is not possible, I searched for her all over Britain. I have been within the very walls of Hogwarts and never found her. How dare you lie to me!" Voldemort yelled lifting his wand to cast the Cruciatus at Snape.

"It is no lie, I have seen her with my own eyes, look into my memories I will hide nothing from you." Severus explained hastily before the curse could be cast. It was the biggest gamble he had ever taken and he hoped it paid off.

Voldemort wasted no time before ripping into the mind of the man who sired his heir. That had been the one and only time he had ever given up control and that child had been the purpose of the act. He first made sure Severus had kept his word and there were no shield in his mind. He had complete access for the first time since Severus Snape had come into his life.

He saw everything his spying, his lies, his captivity at the hand of Dumbledore, he felt the anger at the old man's meddling and he heard the story of how his daughter was taken from him, he saw the madness he had slipped into at her loss, he saw the love Severus once had and still harbored for him, and lastly he felt the pride of seeing their daughter whole and alive for the first time.

With what he saw the shredded parts of his mind began to mend. The madness was retreating back into a darkened corner, dormant but never gone completely. It was profound, swift, and completely unprecedented, but he felt the healing begin.

"It's true, she lives." He whispered quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me we had a child on the way?" Severus asked despite knowing he could very well be tortured for asked such a question.

"I wanted to keep her safe, I made the worst mistake by underestimating the house elves and Dumbledore's manipulations. I thought he would kill her for sure, but I still searched. It was my search for her that lead me to the Potters. I knew that load of rubbish he called a prophecy meant nothing, Pettigrew told me I might be able to find some answers at the Potters. When I cast the killing curse at the boy I was stripped of my body. The process is maddening, especially when I was already borderline insane from grief. I want to see our daughter. Bring her to me, she will not be harmed." Voldemort surprisingly answered the question. His thoughts were now clearer than they had been in years. He was finally getting back some of what he had lost.

"I will do as you ask," He complied and started to bow, before a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"You will no longer bow to me. You have bared your soul to me and I am pleased with what I found. When you return with her you will once again take your place at my side." The Dark Lord ordered. He needed Severus as a partner, not just another servant, and he knew that without a single doubt.

Severus could not believe what he heard, and when he got the nerve to look the Dark Lord in the eye, he saw the insanity clearing away, bringing back the deep expressive eyes of the man he loved.

It was time to retrieve their daughter and start to heal from their personal demons.


	7. Chained To You

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Seven**

**Chained To You**

When Severus finally returned to Hogwarts, Hermione had returned to the office with much fewer people than he expected, and one of them didn't look happy at all.

"Are you sure these are the only ones close enough to hurt you?" He asked his daughter as he assessed the two youngest Weasleys.

"They are not the only ones I care about, but they know more about me than anything else, and people are aware of how close I am to them." She explained.

"Alright, the fewer people there are the better this will work, but I just wanted to make sure. Now I am sure you are aware we can not just take them with us, it would raise too many questions, and with them being the closest people to you it would not take people long to piece together your identity. What we are going to do is hide them in plain sight, there is a catch though." He explained pausing long enough for the teens to understand the situation.

"Alright, what is the catch?" The girl formerly known as Harry broke the silence first.

"The process is permanent for the most part, it might fade after awhile, but it will never be completely gone." He answered bluntly.

"What actually happens?" Hermione asked interestedly.

"In simple terms you are going to bind yourself to her so she will always know if you are in trouble, or injured. It is a variation on the soul bond ritual, but it does not go as deep and will not interfere with any of your future bondings. This has been performed a number of times successfully and there is very little risk." He answered her question.

"You said very little risk, but that still means there is one, what is it?" His daughter caught the last part of the sentence.

"The only thing that could go wrong is the connection could become too deeply ingrained and you will know more than if they are safe, some of these bonds have been telepathically connected. You would essentially be unable to hide anything from each other." He answered slowly.

"Why should we do this again?" Ron interrupted, causing Severus to sneer down at the youngest Weasley male.

"It is protecting both you and her, if we know when you are in danger we can find you and get you out of there, and in turn that protects our secrets because Veritaserum will not work on you concerning the other partners in the bond. It is the one oddity in the spell no spell crafter or potions master has been able to understand or eliminate." Snape explained slowly, stretching out the syllables, as if he was talking to someone either very young or incredibly stupid.

"I'm sorry but I am going to have to pass," Ron answered with vehemence and no real sorrow.

"Why?" Harry asked, hurt deeply.

"This sounds just like another of your crazy stunts that always end up with us half dead and you with all the glory. So no, I will not be part of your precious protection brigade. Goodbye, you are no friend of mine." Ron left the office slamming the door in his wake.

"He will be back," Ginny said hesitantly.

"Ginny I am sorry, but if and when he does come back he will not be welcome, he has done this too many times. I learned from Pettigrew's lesson, if any of us were to go traitor it would be him. I have to ask you. Do you seriously want to do this? I know I have hurt you pretty badly, and you have more right than Ron does to walk out of this office." Harry asked her trying to impress upon Ginny the importance of the situation.

"I will do it, you are not Harry Potter, I understand that now that I see the real you. I can do this for you as long as I can keep the two of you separate, and you are. Plus I actually listened to the Professor, unlike my brother, and I understand this works both ways. We will both get protection out of this so I have no problem doing it." Ginny said strongly.

"You don't even have to ask me, I will do it in a heartbeat." Hermione answered before he could ask.

"Alright, as far as rituals go this one is simple, I need her to put a hand on each of your foreheads, and you two to link hands. If there had been more of you it would have been more complicated." When his daughter had placed a hand on the other girls' foreheads and Hermione and Ginny had joined hands he drew his wand and waved it over top of the triad. He spoke in a rapid language that Harry didn't understand but she thought it might be some form of Gaelic.

When he was finished with the incantation he spoke to his daughter, "If this worked correctly you should be able to feel both of them clearly, they will be like a warm presence in the back of your mind. That warmth will heat up when they are in trouble and will grow cold if they loose consciousness." He explained, then turned to the other two.

"You should both have this feeling, but you are feeling each other more strongly than her. You two will most likely be closer at hand to help each other hence the deeper connection. You will feel her distress as well but it will be a much subtler feeling." He told them.

"I can feel it," His daughter answered, just as the others echoed the statement.

"Is it safe for me to ask some questions?" Ginny asked even more hesitantly.

"Go ahead, but we may not answer them," The former Harry allowed.

"Why has no one called you by name yet?" She asked starting easy.

"My name is not going to stay the same it is just easier to never associate that name with this form, it will create less problems later so you don't have to be so worried about slipping and calling me the old name on accident." She answered.

Ginny visibly gulped before asking the next question, "Why do you look like the Dark Lord?"

She looked to her father, who gave a brief nod, before answering. "Ginny, I am his daughter, and not just his." At that she gave a meaningful look to Severus.

Before she could hear Ginny's reaction, Hermione interrupted. "So that is what you meant when you said you had to confirm your suspicions with him."

"Yes," She answered simply, and than looked over at Ginny.

The girl looked a little shell shocked, but suddenly let out a small laugh. "If I can handle you changing into a girl, I think I can handle this, I just hope you know what you are getting into."

"In all honesty, I don't, but I trust my father," She answered simply and there was a surprised pause at the end of her words. "Do you mind?" She asked turning to Severus.

He managed to answer in a clear voice, "I don't, but your other father may want that title so we will have to see, but for now you can call me whatever you want."

"Thank you, I am not sure I could have gone back to calling you Professor Snape unless I had too." She answered honestly.

"I think that potion changed more than your looks. You are not acting like Harry at all." Hermione mentioned quietly.

"That is possible, when I spoke to the Headmaster he admitted to both creating the potion itself, and making it too strong, it is feasible it suppressed your personality as well." Severus answered with some thought.

"I don't think I mind. I am more comfortable right now than I ever was as a boy. I'm just sorry I had to hurt so many people to become this way." She commented quietly.

"I have one more question, but I don't think you want me to ask it out loud." Ginny said walking over to the former Harry.

Ginny whispered in her ears, and her face blushed a bright crimson, as she answered quietly, "Yes."

"I didn't think that part had changed or you wouldn't be as upset about hurting me." Ginny responded taking the answer in stride.

"What did you ask?" Questioned Hermione, who was burning with unsatisfied curiosity.

Ginny answered to spare the newly turned girl, "She is going to have to tell you on her own terms, I won't tell if she doesn't want me to."

"Thanks Ginny," The girl in question interrupted before that particular conversation could go any further.

"We really are going to have to find out your name soon. I mean this is going to get frustrating after awhile." Ginny said frustratingly after nearly calling her Harry even after being told why she shouldn't.

That prompted Severus to finally confess. "I was told it before I came back here."

"Why didn't you tell us?" His daughter asked indignantly.

"Because you didn't ask, and I was waiting to see how long it would be before you did. I thought I would tell you now, since we really should be leaving soon." Severus explained.

"So what is it?"

"Your name is Lilah Rayne Snape-Riddle, although you are supposed to use the Riddle part at the manor, and the Snape part in public." Severus explained.

"I can live with that, but what does it mean?" The newly named Lilah asked.

"It means night, or seduction, I guess if you put it together you get seductive night, or seductive darkness if you prefer." Unsurprisingly Hermione answered before Severus had the chance.

"Very fitting," Lilah agreed with the name choice.

"Are you ready to go meet your other father?" Severus asked concerned.

"As ready as I will ever be, let's get this over with." Lilah answered.

He conjured up a black, floor length, hooded cloak for her. He wanted to make sure the next person to set eyes on her was the Dark Lord. He would not take kindly to the other death eaters seeing her before he had the chance. Turning back to his daughter's friends he told them, "You need to head back to your common room, if any one asks, you were in the library studying together, and as for Mr. Weasley you have my permission as a Hogwarts Professor to Obliviate him if necessary." He gave his permission to both girls, but knew Hermione would end up casting the spell if it turned out they needed to.

With that he left the room his daughter trailing behind him, it was time to reunite their family.


	8. Dark Light

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Eight**

**Dark Light**

Lilah barely kept her nervousness in check, sticking as close as she dared to her father. The halls of Hogwarts were thankfully empty as they headed towards the Apparation point. He held onto her tightly as he took them both to the Dark Lord's side.

He felt lucky he had thought to cover his daughter from sight, as he did not land in the private study like he had before but the main meeting hall. There were a scattered number of Death Eaters in the room all facing towards the throne like chair of Voldemort.

The man in question was overseeing the small group of Death Eaters, when he felt another follower Apparate in, but they were not alone. Once he caught sight of Severus' familiar form, and the not so familiar form standing next to him, he knew who was under the cloak.

Severus was mindful of the earlier order to take his place at the Lord's side and did so, leading his daughter there as well.

"Snape, who have you brought to us this time?" The Dark Lord asked despite already knowing the answer.

"I have brought you the one who was lost." Severus answered and with a minute nod to Lilah she lowered her hood.

With her back to the main room the other Death eaters only saw a curtain of dark hair, but Voldemort looked at the face of his daughter for the first time since the day of her birth.

He first noted her once baby blue eyes had changed to be a mixture of black and crimson, odd, but beautiful. He saw how much she favored his looks, but there was enough of Severus in her he couldn't deny being her sire. She was not overly voluptuous, but her frame did have smooth curves and delicate proportions. She was thin and willowy, too thin he noted. She was also smaller than he had expected, both Severus and himself were an inch or two above six feet, they dwarfed her.

"We need to talk," He observed addressing his family. Turning to the gathered Death Eaters he gave them their orders, "You are dismissed, I will expect full reports at our next meeting."

Once the last of the Death Eaters had left, they were finally alone for the first time. Voldemort dropped the glamour that kept him in his intimidating form, which left him looking like he was in his mid forties, and the resemblance between him and Lilah was clear.

"What happened to you? You are far too thin, and you should be taller?" He asked getting right to the point, he had spent years searching for her, if anyone had caused her pain they would suffer a most painful death.

"That is a very long story, did father tell you what Dumbledore did?" Lilah asked.

"First off, I am your father he is your sire, but yes he informed me." He answered.

"Well, than you know I was raised by muggles after that night. They hated magic and anything to do with it, and that definitely included me. I wasn't fed much, and I had a lot of chores to do, I know it could have been worse but it was no picnic either. I am glad the Dursleys did not know I am a female, I do not want to think what Vernon would have done." Lilah explained the bare minimum.

"I know that is not the whole truth, but I will leave it for now, I am sure you do not trust me as of yet." Voldemort was showing surprising consideration for someone who was supposed to be a raving lunatic.

"I know this is probably out of line, but I have to ask. You seem different than the other times we have met, what happened?" She asked hesitantly.

He had known that question was coming. He wasn't quite sure if she would believe him, but he told her the truth anyway. "Loosing you was the most maddening experience of your life. I had made a promise to keep you safe for the rest of your life and I couldn't even do that for a whole day. I spent years and years searching for you. I delved into magics and places I should not have gone. I drove myself to insanity, and it didn't help that for most of that time I had no corporeal body. When your sire told me he had found you it is starting to clear away the shadows."

"What about all the stories I have heard? They claimed you to be dark and evil long before I was born." She asked seriously, wondering just how much of this was real and how much were clever lies.

"My side has always been dark I do not deny that, yes we killed, we even tortured some of our victims. It had a purpose before I lost my sanity. A true goal that could help rebuild the wizarding world into something to be proud of again. Our people are superior to muggles, it just is that way. All humans are born with magic, but only wizards have the capability to access it, we are actually the newest step in the evolution of humans, and that makes us the superior blood line. The more our blood mixes with muggles, the less of this evolutionary leap is passed on. I have nothing against muggle born wizards, because they have made the evolutionary leap. It is some of my more zealous followers that believe this." Voldemort tried to explain.

"How can that possibly justify the killing and torture?" Lilah asked the question reigning in her temper for the moment, she wanted the answer first.

"We do not just kill any muggles, or I should say we didn't before the insanity caught hold, we killed those that were too close to revealing our existence to the rest of them. They were typically taken care of swiftly and confidently, the Dark Mark was originally designed to be a warning, a way of telling the rest of the wizarding world how close they came to being discovered. Even the purpose of that has been skewed over time. When we noticed a particularly large number of muggles had learned about us, we knew a larger display was in order. When the world began to fear us they stayed indoors and mixed with muggles less and less.

You have been raised on the Light side so I would imagine our methods appall you and you do not understand how something like that can possibly help, but when you are talking about the continuation of our race drastic measures need to be taken. Your precious light side wants us all to interact and marry muggles. Each generation of wizards gets smaller and smaller. The old blood lines are becoming sickly from too much intermarriage and the strongest wizards are more often coming from muggle heritage. I believe you have a muggleborn friend that matches this description?

We are the Dark side because our methods are direct and often fatal. We are the best warriors magic can have and most of my followers have been raised since birth to be fighters. It has been this way on the Dark side for far longer than I have been in control. Do you understand, I am not the one who started this fight to keep distance between wizards and muggles I am just continuing it. I am going to take the time to reorder and regroup my forces. I have been neglecting them and that has let those few true fanatics take hold. Our side needs cleansed and we can continue the fight." Voldemort answered thoroughly.

Lilah was struck silent by the information, there was just so much, and she found herself believing her father despite some misgivings. It made sense what he had told her. She didn't agree with killing, but she had to admit the Dark side sounded more appealing than the Light side ever did. She had already killed for the Light side hadn't she? They wanted her to do it again, made all the more heinous by the fact Dumbledore wanted her to kill her own father. Her father was asking her to accept killing, but at least he had given her a valid reason for it, and she wasn't likely to be thrown in Azkaban by him for doing what he had asked.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked cautiously.

"I want to train you to be the warrior and heir you were born to be. We will not be going easy on you purely for the fact you need to catch up on the years you missed. You will be asked to do things you will not like, but they must be done, and you will be given a reason for each task you are assigned." Voldemort answered bluntly.

"I will do as you asked and make you proud father." She accepted with determination. She had finally been given a choice and she was taking the bull by the horns and doing as her father wished. She may still have some doubts, but she figured they would be worked out during the course of her training. If she knew anything it was that this was going to be one hell of a ride.


	9. Androgyny

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Nine**

**Androgyny**

"I am sure you are feeling overwhelmed by all of this, come with me I will show you to your room. Tonight you will rest and tomorrow two of my trusted will take you to get you anything and everything you need." Riddle told his daughter.

She followed both him and Severus out of the room without a word. It was just simply too much effort to try and talk when she would only have agreed anyway. She was exhausted and overloaded she just wanted to fall asleep for hours and wake up human again.

They did not walk far, something she was incredibly thankful for, before coming to a hall with several doors leading off of it. She was lead to the third door on the right and shown inside.

The room was a bit on the plain side containing just a bed, desk, and a nightstand made of sturdy wood. Two doors lead off the room both opened to reveal a closet and a bathroom.

"This will be your room from now on, you may change it however you like, this manor is warded so underage magic is undetectable. We will leave you to get settled in and sleep." Her father explained.

"Thank you and good night," She replied tiredly.

Both of her fathers wished her goodnight before retreating from the room.

Too tired to change much of anything at the moment, she drew her wand from her cloak pocket and transfigured her clothes into pajamas. She slid into the bed and fell asleep quickly her last thoughts resting on who would be escorting her tomorrow.

ROTWROTWROTWROTWROTWROTW

The next time she became aware of her surroundings hours had passed, and she could see sunlight through the curtains of the window she had been too tired to notice the evening before. Stretching out in a decidedly feline manner she pulled the covers to the side and sat up. A few moments passed where she thought something was missing when she remembered the potion had effectively removed her need for glasses.

Wandering into the bathroom she noticed it was done in tasteful white and black tile, the taps and other hardware were made of brushed nickel, the bath was just big enough to soak her entire body in with room to spare, and there was a separate shower stall in the back. Moving further into the room she looked into the mirror placed over the sink and saw more of her reflection than she had in the small hand mirror Hermione had conjured.

She was not displeased, just a little surprised at how much she took after Tom Riddle. There were some distinctly Severus Snape traits though like the slender hands and the shape of her eyes. The color of her eyes was fascinating and unusual, clearly hard to forget. She liked them but figured they could be a problem if she ever needed to go somewhere anonymously, not many people had crimson eyes, only her father and now herself.

She also saw that her new female status only accented her near emaciated state. She had struggled to keep weight on when she had been a boy, and now her struggle continued. It seemed her time with the Dursleys had left its mark even in this new life and she hated them for it.

Hate was a new feeling for her. She had never really hated anyone. She disliked them, fought with them, and lost her respect for them but this burning desire to see them in pain was new. She would soon discover this would not be a one time sensation, she would learn to hate, and she would learn to use it.

A knock on her bedroom door broke her out of her thoughts, luckily she had left the bathroom door open or she wouldn't have heard it.

Moving to answer it she was greeted by her sire, "Good morning, I trust you slept well?" He asked as he walked in carrying some folded up fabric.

"Good morning and yes I did. Is it time to go already?" She asked worried she had allowed herself to oversleep.

"Not quite, but your father remembered you hadn't brought clothing with you so he sent for one of his female followers about your size and procured this for you." He answered, as he held out the bundle that Lilah now knew was clothing.

She unfolded it to reveal what should have been her worst nightmare, a long black dress. It had three quarter sleeves with lace overly on the top portion ending at her hips curving around them, the skirt portion was plain black, and the whole thing was ankle length. Luckily the neckline wasn't too daring, just a modest scoop.

"This is going to take some getting used to." She said dryly in response to the dress.

"I thought it might be a little much myself, but he reminded me you will be escorted by too pureblooded women who will probably be dressed similarly. Trust me it might be a touch awkward, but while shopping you will blend in more wearing this than if we made you into a tomboy." Severus assured her.

"So who is taking me?" She asked curiously, still inspecting the dress.

"You know both of them, but they will only know you as the heir, they have not been told of your past life. The choice to reveal who you used to be will always be in your hands alone. You will be taken by Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Black." He answered honest.

"Wait, you want me to hang around Bellatrix without killing her?" She asked icily, "and isn't her name Lestrange?"

"Yes, you are going to spend the day with her without murder, and it used to be. Rudolphus was killed in a raid about two months ago. Theirs was an arranged marriage, little love was lost between them, she switched her name back to Black as soon as he was declared dead." He explained.

"Is she still as insane as always?" Lilah asked bluntly.

"No, but that doesn't make her any less dangerous, Bellatrix is the best actor on the dark side. She plays her role well and gathers information others cannot come close to." Severus warned.

"So I am just supposed to forget about Sirius? I know now he was never my true godfather but he did care about me, and that has to count for something, his loss still hurts." She confessed.

"No one is asking you to bury your feelings towards the people that were in your life before. We are asking you to give some of them a second chance. You are under no orders to like every one of the Death Eaters, Merlin knows I hate enough of them, but you should at least try. Bellatrix especially may surprise you." He reassured her.

"Alright, I will give her a chance. She doesn't know who I used to be, we will see how she acts now." Lilah agreed.

"That is all I ask now go get ready. You may come out when you are done, there are no extra Death Eaters here at the moment. We don't want any of them seeing you until you are formally introduced once the cleansing is complete." Severus explained.

"Alright I will be out soon," She answered.

Severus left her daughter to prepare herself and she went back into the bathroom. She looked longingly at the tub for a few seconds before forgoing it for a time saving shower. Cleaning herself carefully she got used to the new body she was in. The sight and feel of the soft curves adorning her female body was decidedly different but not altogether unpleasant.

When she was finished in the shower she turned off the water and grabbed one of the white fluffy towels that had already been laid out. Pressing her face in the soft fabric she just took a few breaths to collect herself and prepare for the emotional onslaught of the day.

Taking her time drying off she approached the mirror, which she assumed was charmed to remain steam less as the reflection was perfectly clear, with her hair dampened and her skin glistening she could see the potential for beauty. It shocked her to see herself as beautiful, especially so soon after leaving behind her male point of view.

Shaking off the disturbing thought she stepped into the bedroom, where the dress was left sitting innocently on the bed. She blushed bright crimson when she realized she needed to conjour herself some proper undergarments. She took her wand off the nightstand and said the spell Hermione had taught her the day before, it worked on the second try.

They felt odd against her skin, too tight, and a bit scratchy on her back. She figured the other girls put up with it their whole lives, she would just have to get used to it. Sliding the dress over her head proved to be less of a challenge than she thought, but doing the zipper up behind her back was an interesting task. When she was finally in it all it needed was a very mild shrinking spell to size it and she was ready for the next step, tackling her hair.

Back into the bathroom she went this time conjouring both a comb and a hairbrush, she attacked her glossy black hair. After combing out the knots she settled into brushing it until it glistened in the light. It was not incredibly long but it fit her face and matched the dress well. Not feeling like battling it into any kind of style she just left it down, and knowing next to nothing about cosmetics didn't even bother to try with those.

For finishing touches she put on the shoes Hermione had made for her, and put her cloak back on but left it open so people could see the dress. Sliding her wand into the inside pocket of the cloak she felt ready to meet the others.

Squaring her shoulders and keeping her head up she opened the door and strode out confidently.

Her attention was immediately caught by the dark shadow of her Sire leaning against the far wall. "I thought you would be done soon, so I came to escort you to your shopping companions." He said by way of explanation.

"Very well," She agreed practicing being aloof and assertive.

"You do not have to try so hard, you can relax a little. While they have not been told your exact identity they have been informed you were raised as a different person and therefore are not going to know a lot of the etiquette so firmly ingrained in them." He assured her, though he couldn't help but be proud of the way she carried herself.

"Then let us not keep them waiting." She urged.

"Follow me," He said before sweeping down the hall with her doing her best to mimic his walk.

Her first sight of the two women was not what she was expecting. There was not a single mean look or overly frightening vibe coming off of them, in fact they both looked a bit aloof but surprisingly Light.

Narcissa was dressed in a cream colored dress with a deep blue cloak worn open. Bellatrix was in a greed dress with a silver cloak. Narcissa was the first to notice the two of them.

"Ah, Severus good to see you, are you going to introduce your daughter to us or just stand there glowering?" She asked with a small smile.

"Very funny Narcissa, this is Lilah, she is to be referred to as Riddle here, but Snape on your outing today." Severus introduced dryly.

"It is very lovely to meet you Lilah, I am Narcissa Malfoy, do call me Narcissa." She introduced herself.

"And I am Bellatrix Black, as with my sister you may refer to me by first name." Bellatrix said without prompt.

"I would like to thank you for sparring your time for me this day," Lilah thanked them politely.

"We do as our Lord commands," Bellatrix answered simply.

"Not that we wouldn't have anyway, there are too few women around these days," Narcissa added with a piercing look at her sister.


	10. Disturbia

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Ten**

**Disturbia**

Lilah did not know what to think about the two women that had become her escorts for the day. They were both gracious and accommodating, but she was sure that was due to who her father was. In their eyes, she was the Dark Lord's heir, and anything they did that could possibly offend her would get back to her father and he would definitely register his displeasure.

Still it was odd to be walking between these two women, whom she had spent the majority of her previous life hating, and staying calm. She followed Narcissa's lead for the most part. Bellatrix had made it clear without actually saying that she had better things to do than escort some young upstart shopping of all things.

She couldn't wrap her mind around the fact they were sisters, there was such a large difference between them. Narcissa was pale as a ghost, and Bellatrix was as dark as night, but it suited them well. Narcissa still had the strength and beauty of women twenty years younger, all her time spent serving the dark could not rob her of this. Bellatrix however did show some wear from the years, she was just as dangerously skinny as Lilah, lines had begun to form next to her eyes, and those dark pools of endless grey filled with a vast emptiness that was surely the remnant of Azkaban.

Finally the silence was broken, "We are taking you to a tailor on the outskirts of Dublin, he takes all patrons who are pureblooded and keeps quiet about exactly who his clients are. He will serve our needs well today." Narcissa explained concisely.

"I will trust in your experience," Lilah differed, not quite sure what she was supposed to say to that.

"Oh relax, we are not going to bite your head off, your situation has been explained. We do not expect you to conform to the rules of etiquette until you have been taught them." Bellatrix spoke up.

"My sister was never one for ceremony, but I agree with her on this, you do not have to fear us." Narcissa added.

"I follow the old traditions; I just don't see the point in following rules you don't know what they are for, or what they mean. I know one of us is going to have to teach her these things at some point, but it will not make this day go any faster if we start now." Bellatrix defended herself.

"Thank you for that, I really have no clue what I am doing, I just hope I didn't embarrass myself too much." Lilah admitted with a blush.

"You didn't do anything wrong, we could just tell it was being forced, we will be working on smoothing out the rough edges later. For today you will be given a little more lee way than we would typically give a pureblooded woman your age." Narcissa assured the nervous girl.

"There is the tailor's shop," Bellatrix informed the other two females.

Lilah followed her gaze to see a small storefront with an old wooden sign hanging above the door, the sign held a picture of sewing needles and a spool of thread, no words were on the sign or anywhere in sight for that matter.

She was lead inside by the two older women and she had the same impression of the store as Ollivanders. It was small and filled to the brim with reams of different weight and color fabrics. There was a stool in the middle of the room with full-length mirrors positioned around it. The stool was currently unoccupied, as was the rest of the store as far as she could tell.

That was soon remedied as a small man walked out of a door in the back of the shop. He was well dressed but not pretentious. His face was fierce and held signs that middle age was not far off. He had a simple no nonsense air about him. He was also small enough Lilah could look him straight in the eye.

"Which of you fine ladies has the appointment today?" He inquired with a thick brogue that reminded Lilah of Seamus Finnegan.

"We have brought you someone new Montague, meet Lilah Snape," Narcissa introduced them.

"Welcome Miss Snape, if you would please step onto the stool we can get started." He addressed Lilah graciously.

She complied without fuss, half wondering if she was going to have to strip in front of them, and relieved when he brought out his tape measure without teller her to do so.

She jumped a bit when he first started measuring her, because he did it by hand. "I am sorry for startling you, I assume you have been to one of the busier shops, and thus have only been measured by spell correct?" He asked politely to get her mind off the unusual sensation of a stranger's touch.

"Correct, I must admit this is a new experience for me," She answered with a small smile.

"Nothing to be shy about, I see this a lot in my new clients. It seems fewer places are doing things the old-fashioned way. I simply have found that measuring by hand is more accurate than by spell, and if you are going to take the time to do something, you might as well get it right." He explained fondly. Despite his somewhat harsh demeanor, he was good at getting clients through the discomfort of direct touch, something common in wizards used to everything done by spells.

"So what kind of styles were you thinking about?" He asked when he had finally taken all the measurement.

Lilah quickly through a look that screamed, 'help me,' at Narcissa and Bellatrix at that comment, she had absolutely no idea what she would need to fit into her new role.

"She needs a standard wardrobe for a young lady of station, plus a few more formal pieces for important dinners and meetings." Narcissa explained without pause.

"Ah, I see well any ideas for colors? Is there a particular type of fabric you would prefer?" He inquired, directing his questions at Narcissa when he realized all Lilah was going to do was defer to her anyway.

"I believe for colors, black, dark reds, blues, greens, and maybe cream or ivory, no pastels they would not look right with her coloring. Fabrics should be soft cotton, satin, silks, and velvet." Narcissa laid out with some thought.

"She is also going to need some general work out clothes and night wear," Bellatrix added in, and soon went back to looking bored.

"Alright, I can have the whole lot made up and sent to you by this evening, may I please have the address?" Montague requested after writing down meticulous notes in a summoned book.

Narcissa gave him the address to Malfoy manor as Riddle manor was under too many wards for such a large shipment to get through. "Thank you for your time Montague; shall we settle the bill now?" She addressed the tailor.

When Lilah saw her pull out a gold Gringotts key at his approval, she moved to protest but Bellatrix stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "The money is coming from your father's vaults he would not take no for an answer." She warned.

"I still don't like it," Lilah commented back lowly.

"You don't have to like it, but you do have to obey it. We all obey our Lord no matter what and that includes you." She reprimanded sharply, but still low enough to avoid attracting attention.

"I understand," Lilah submitted, but she was still a little irritated with the lecture.

"Come on you two, we need to leave Montague to his work." Narcissa called to them from the door.

The two brunette witches followed her without another word. They hadn't fought exactly, but they were establishing a ranking within themselves. Lilah might be the blood heir, but she would have to prove she was worthy of the title to Bellatrix before she would yield to the younger witch outside of their Lord's presence.

"I believe lunch would be in order, what do you think?" Narcissa asked ignoring the slight tension between the other two.

"That is fine with me," Lilah answered.

"Where do you want to go?" Bellatrix asked suspiciously.

"What about that lovely little place in Glastonbury?" Narcissa offered up.

"Oh alright," Bellatrix agreed grudgingly, lightly grabbing Lilah's arm she apparated to the right street with Narcissa not far behind.

"What's the problem with it?" Lilah asked noticing the reluctance in Bellatrix's voice.

She was not expecting Narcissa to burst out in laughter or Bellatrix to glare daggers at her sister. "One of the waiters took an interest in Bellatrix. He attempted to woo her and ended up embarrassing both of them. You see he…" She was abruptly cut off by Bellatrix.

"Say one more word of that story and Severus will know every embarrassing thing you have ever done." She threatened.

"I wouldn't dream of it Dear Sister," Narcissa complied sweetly.

They finally reached a tiny restaurant with a sign outside proclaiming it The Harvest Pub. The three of them went inside and were quickly ushered to a table where the conversation was picked up easily.

"I take it you and Sire are friends?" Lilah asked the oddity of calling him Sire would take some getting used to.

"We have been friends since school Lucius was a year ahead of me, and Severus was a year behind. Severus was a loner most of the time, but if the Marauders played a particularly vicious prank we teamed up and gave them a run for their galleons." Narcissa explained with a decidedly unMalfoyish chuckle.

"I would have liked to see that," Lilah responded with a smirk. The Marauders did play some terribly cruel pranks on the Slytherins, Severus especially they had it coming to them.

"I can see more of Severus in you right now." Narcissa observed as the smirk did accent the features she inherited from the Potions Master.

"I remember the three of you, nearly inseparable at times, it made me glad I was fours years older than you and graduated before you could do too much mischief." Bellatrix decided to join in the conversation. "Poor Andromeda was not so lucky."

The serving girl arrived to quietly take their orders and left like she had never been there.

"Well, it wasn't our fault she was the baby of the family and thus easy practice. We didn't hurt her that badly, but I am beginning to think we might have caused brain damage. I mean really, Sirius rebelled but to marry a muggle, unthinkable." Narcissa said with slight distaste.

"That was rather disappointing, although her daughter did turn out to have the Black Metamorphogus abilities." Bellatrix pointed out.

"How that happened I will never know." Narcissa stated then shook her head.

"What if she married a squib not a muggle, would that make a difference?" Lilah asked honestly, she was new to the idea of an evolutionary leap, she didn't know how it worked yet.

"It might, some squibs have a little magic, but it is just not enough to work with. The Blacks have enough power if this Tonks character that stole my sister had minor magic it would be enough to give their children the boost of magic to receive the blood gifts of the Black family." Bellatrix explained, slightly startled.

They had never considered that Andromeda may have married a squib not a muggle. It would be hard to prove. Most pureblood families immediately disowned squibs and they went out for adoption in the muggle world. There would be no record and no way of tracing these children. If that turned out to be the case they may just get their sister back, her only crime against the family was marrying outside of magic.

They finished their meal in silence. All of them had much to think about and that was best done in quiet. She didn't know it but their respect for Lilah had grown through her observation. It was a small step, but it was progress in the right direction.


	11. Spellbound

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Spellbound**

The rest of the shopping trip passed without incident. All they had left to gather was things she would need for her training. Since she had very little idea what that training would include the elder witches took control of the situation. There was one thing that caught her interest in particular. They had to make a stop at Borgen and Burkes in Knockturn Alley, and the only purchase made was in a package so small it fit in the palm of a hand.

She was sharply reminded of the Sorcerer's Stone incident. Whatever was in that package was likely to be powerful and dangerous. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be involved with an object like that again, but knew she would have very little choice in the matter when everything was said and done.

Returning to Riddle manor was a welcome relief to all three witches. It had been a long day. Lilah had made sure she had pulled her hood up to shield her face once more and was glad she did. Her father was holding a small meeting. Only about twenty or so Death Eaters were in the room when she knew his forces had to be much larger. It was only after a few moments thought that she remembered the 'cleansing' he had promised to do within his ranks. It must be easier to read his follower's intentions if there was a smaller group.

She left the room quickly to return to her own before she could attract too much attention. Narcissa and Bellatrix had remained in the back of the meeting presumably to report to her father the success of their trip once the meeting was finished.

Just as she had lain down on her bed she felt the subtle presence at the back of her mind heat up sharply and than relax back into its normal state. That was enough to pull her into full wakefulness, the bond had made itself known, and she didn't know what to do. Her father was residing over the meeting and she didn't have a clue where her Sire was. She was only sure it was Hermione who had been in trouble.

Reaching out towards the warmth with her own mind, she tried to touch it. Just to see what the bond would do. Maybe she could get some kind of response or reassurance that her friend was all right now.

She did not get any of the reactions she thought she might. As soon as she got close to the bond she was pulled away from her body and through the bridge connecting her to Hermione. It was a weird sensation to feel everything Hermione was at the time, but at least she understood what had happened.

Hermione was angry, a pure white hot anger, and that was probably what triggered the bond to heat up. What Lilah wanted to know was what had made her angry.

Lilah could feel Hermione's magic retreating back to her core so she assumed Hermione had just hexed whatever was making her angry, and the spell had to be powerful for the magic to still be retreating. She remembered her Sire giving Hermione and Ginny permission to Obliviate Ron if necessary. Maybe that is what happened?

Her dizzying thoughts kept swirling around until they were finally interrupted by her Sire coming into the room after knocking.

"The meeting has finished, your father and I wish to speak with you about how we are going to work your training." He explained the sudden intrusion.

"Something has happened at Hogwarts, Hermione was in trouble for a very short time. Things have settled down, but I thought you should know." Lilah told him as she was escorted to where her father was waiting.

"I will check in on her when I return. It has been decided I shall continue to teach at Hogwarts to keep the children of our followers safe." Severus promised his worried daughter.

"Thanks Dad," she answered gratefully, then blushed when she realized what she had said.

He stopped in his tracks, "Did you just call me dad?"

"Yeah, if you don't want me to I will stop, but calling you Sire doesn't feel right." She responded meekly.

He sighed a bit before answering, "You may call me what you wish, but when in the presence of your father or in a formal setting you will still have to call me Sire."

"I can live with that," She agreed as they continued walking down the hall.

They ended up in her father's study. It surprised her that Bellatrix and Narcissa were still there. They were still unaware of who she used to be, and yet her father wanted them to help train her? She wasn't bad at lying but not good enough to fool them for as long as it had been implied she would be training. She had been promised it would be up to her to tell people so she assumed that sometime during her training she would get fed up with hiding and just tell them.

The possibility that hiding who she used to be for that long would erase the last traces of Harry from her mannerisms never crossed her mind, but it had to her fathers.

"Alright, we have found a way to get you the training you need, in a reasonable amount of time, without you pushing yourself to exhaustion every night." Her father immediately started to explain.

She watched him hold up the package Narcissa had gotten from Borgen and Burkes. "This is the solution, but it is risky, not too mention highly illegal."

"What do you want me to do?" She asked cautiously.

"Open it," He ordered. She complied with the order wondering what was in the package.

The brown paper came off quite easily, revealing a small golden hourglass attached to a long chain, a Time Turner. She recognized it from her third year. She suddenly had a good idea about what would happen to her.

"This is going to allow you to do multiple days of training at the same time. Your days will be split into four increments, at the end of each of those increments you are to use the Time Turner to return to the beginning of that increment. You will essentially be doing four days in the time it takes us to go one. There are risks but we are going to take precautions, any questions?" He further explained.

"What are the risks and how do I avoid them?" She asked the obvious question first.

"You can not be seen by yourself. To avoid thisat the end of every dayfor you do not turn back the time turner on the last increment. This will allowtime to passin the real worldwhich willenable you to avoid any of your past or future incarnations." He answered.

"What are the four increments for?" She asked.

"The first one is when you will be meeting with one of your four tutors. The second one is for you to complete assigned bookwork so you will better understand the practical lessons. The third is for personal recreation, you may do whatever you wish for that increment, but you must be careful to avoid bumping into yourself, alternate activities to avoid this. The fourth is for sleep, though you may wish to use part of your third to get a few more hours on hard days. Each increment will be six hours thus you will have a twenty-four hour day." Her father outlined succinctly.

"Who will be teaching me, and why only one lesson a day?" She asked still not quite grasping the time difference.

"Myself, your sire, Narcissa, and Bellatrix, will be teaching you. To you it will seem like one lesson a day but to us one of us will be with you constantly."

"Doesn't that mean one of you will be giving up sleep?"

"No, I sleep during the day as raids and such are best performed at night. I will be teaching you during those hours which the others will be asleep."

"What will each of you be teaching?"

"I will be teaching the Dark Arts, I want to make sure you are taught correctly. Your Sire is going to be maintaining your Hogwarts courses, plus a few extra. Narcissa has agreed to teach you both etiquette and politics. Bellatrix will be teaching you how to fight."

"That sounds like a good plan. When do we start?"

"Tomorrow morning will be your first lesson. Narcissa will be starting with you, Bellatrix the next day, your sire after her, and myself on the fourth day."

"What time should I be up and where are we meeting?" She finally addressed a question to someone else, Narcissa this time.

"Be up at six and get yourself breakfast, I will be here to collect you at six thirty and bring you back to Malfoy manor. It will be safer for you if you are not here for one of your lessons, because it reduces the risk of running into yourself." She explained.

Lilah was proud of herself for not flinching or making any move of protest because she had to spend time at Malfoy manor. So far people had been surprising her she didn't know what she would discover.

She did wonder why she had a specific time to wake up if she had a different time to meet Narcissa when she realized that Time Turners could only turn back complete hours. It would be easier on every one if her six-hour increment started on the hour, and that would make her tutoring sessions five and a half hours rather than the complete six.

"How long do you think the training will take?" She asked hesitantly.

"To you several years, but in real time I don't think we can take more than a single year. The Light side is going to strike hard and fast because of their lost savior. You need to be ready to fight by then." Severus decided to answer.

"Will I age in real time, or on my time line?" She asked curiously.

"You will be aging at your own pace. If your training takes a year real time you will come out twenty years old." He answered the odd question. "You will be a fully qualified adult, especially if we find a way for you to take your NEWTs."

"So I could waltz into Hogwarts right under Dumbledore's nose and he could do nothing, because I will be too old to be the heir of Voldemort he knows?" She asked almost cackling at the thought.

"Technically yes you probably could, but if we did there had better be a damn good reason, I lost you once it wont happen again." Voldemort said forcefully.

"I will be careful, if anything like that ever happens I will know how to handle myself seeing as how you will be training me." She reassured her father.

"When we are done with you, I doubt your best friends will recognize you." Bellatrix pointed out with confidence.

"My friends will always recognize me, everyone else barely knew me, we will see what happens." Lilah commented with more confidence than Bellatrix.


	12. Now or Never

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**A/N** Welcome to the next chapter of Rip Out The Wings, now before we get to the good stuff I have something I would like to say.

When have I **EVER** written a story with a truly cannon Harry? The answer, never! Someone has reviewed my story calling it a failure this early because I changed Harry's personality. Stating that a person's personality is derived from how they were raised, and I halfway agree with them, I just happen to believe it is a combination of genetics and nurture. The point was though that it was the potion that altered Harry's personality taking both genetics and nurture out of the equation. Lilah is acting the way she would have from the beginning if she had never been given the potion. It is that simple and I have changed Harry's personality far more with less reason in the past and never once has someone called it a Mary Sue, I barely know what that is let alone how to write one. I tell people upfront I am not a cannon author if that is what you are looking for then go read the real books. I am a fanfiction author playing with the places and characters I make no claims to their possession and in return I make no claims that anything in my stories is remotely close to the vision the authors had. If any of my readers have a problem with my writing just stop reading already and go find something else. There are so many wonderful stories on this sight you could be spending your time reading them rather than wasting it on ambushing me for something you were forewarned about.

**Chapter Twelve**

**Now Or Never**

The next morning Lilah was awake and ready at the appointed time. Yet another dress had been discovered in her room, this one a dark blue. Apparently, Narcissa had sent over her purchases from the day before as it fit perfectly without modification.

The butterflies in her stomach refused to settle as she placed the Time Turner securely around her neck. It would be her constant companion for the next four years of her life. To think about all that time away from everything she had ever known before was a staggering thought and one she quickly chased away.

The arrival of Narcissa was actually welcomed as it helped chase away her tumbled thoughts.

"Follow me, most of the manor is covered by Apparation wards we need to head to the one room that is not shrouded by them." Narcissa commanded and explained as she lead the younger woman through the halls.

Lilah just kept quiet and followed the orders. She found nothing wrong with following them, and it would be too much hassle not to. Narcissa so far had been fair and a little distant. Nothing terribly threatening and Lilah slowly lowered her guard a fraction. It was probably a bad move but she wasn't sure of that at the time.

The apparation room at Riddle manor was not far from her own set of rooms, so it was not long before they were at Malfoy manor.

It was just as grand as she had imagined it would be. It was large and elegant with a white marble exterior and wide sweeping staircase. There were tapestries of different people and places, bronze statues stood on pedestals in the corner. She was lead into a small parlor on the second floor of the manor. A simple tea service sat on the round table in the center of the sunny room. The table and accompanying chairs were a pristine white with baby blue accents around the room.

Her first lesson came fast.

"You are not sitting down correctly!" Narcissa corrected sharply.

The rest of the lesson was held in a similar manner with Lilah going through the motions of a simple tea with respected guests. She was yelled at more times then she was praised. She had some manners from living with the Dursleys but Narcissa quickly pointed out the manners for a Lady of Status and one of a slave were different. She was swiftly correcting all the mistakes made by his raising. Lilah now had an idea why her father had set up a four year training regimen this was going to be very difficult there was so much to remember!

She was laden down with two dusty books, one of proper etiquette, and the other on basic speech. She had never realized just how intricate being a Lady could be.

Back in her room she remembered what her father had said about staggering out her activities. With that in mind she sat at her desk and wrote out a four day rotating schedule. She made sure to leave a few minutes margin around the times so she could plan for possible delays or hold ups. She made time for naps and walks, baths were scheduled for every day.

She realized with the time turner she could actually sleep in one morning every four days and just turn it backwards in time when she was ready. That left enough time in the rest of the increments she could work in a nap every day so she could get a full eight hours instead of the small increment laid out for her. She gradually broke down the rest of her free time until she had a steady routine established.

Thankful that her study time was already planned out she just had to plan the free time out. Wondering what she could do she decided to use the one for the day to wonder around and find what there was to do it meant her next three days would be hard trying to avoid herself.

Riddle manor was simply huge there was so many passages and rooms she was sure she would be lost in her new home for a long time. It was like getting used to Hogwarts again, but at least at Hogwarts there was only one corridor if you entered you would die. A lot of the permanent guests at Riddle manor had wards on their doors to protect themselves and their possessions. They would not hesitate to kill any who tried to enter.

Lilah made sure she noted which doors belong to somebody powerful enough to cast such a ward. Only a few wizard had the magical core to sustain them as personal wards fed off their own power. Only the inner circle, and possibly a handful of others could come close to holding them for an extended period of time, but that didn't mean there wasn't lesser wards, that despite not being lethal were still bothersome enough she didn't want to accidentally bump into them.

Her wanderings didn't stray from the main part of the house and she felt she was lucky in remembering to wear her long flowing cloak. The voluminous fabric did wonders for hiding both her gender and her appearance from any she might pass. Her father had not forbidden her from being scene, but that didn't mean she was comfortable with the idea of looking someone in the eyes when they had previously tried to kill her, even if that did seem a lifetime ago.

Ghosting around the castle cloaked like this she realized this would be a way to fool even herself if in an emergency she had to go to a place she knew one of her past or future selves were going to be.

She made a lot of good discoveries in the six hours she had, but it was soon time to return to her quarters and tackle the books Narcissa had given her. Normally she would have slacked off when having four days to read them, but she knew her other teachers would be giving her more books, probably thicker and more complicated. She would need all the time she had she was sure of it.


	13. Hurts So Good

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Hurts So Good**

When Lilah woke the next morning, a note had been placed on her pillow. It gave her directions to the room in the castle where her lessons with Bellatrix would take place. She ate her breakfast mindlessly as she thought about what that class was going to involve. Her lessons with Narcissa had been strict and precise but she had not been mean or rude during it. Lilah didn't know how Bellatrix was going to handle her teaching role, but all of her prior encounters with the unpredictable witch warned her she was probably not going to like it.

This time she did not wear a dress instead she wore the clothes they had ordered just for her training. Throwing her cloak on and twisting the time turner around her neck she followed the directions on the note to a room three floors down, it effectively placed her physical training room in the dungeon.

She opened the door and walked in cautiously, and her caution proved to be a good thing as a large black blur came out of nowhere and slammed into her side. She had been alert enough to stop herself from flying backwards but she was rattled and would soon be sporting a bruise on her ribs.

"Lesson number One, always be alert. Even in a room full of people you call allies there will always be someone that wants rid of you to gain more power, don't think they won't try if they think they have a chance." Bellatrix warned severely and Lilah knew the source of the assault.

"You did well for your first day, do better next time. Now what was one thing you did right and one thing you did wrong when you walked into the room?" She questioned falling into her new teaching role smoothly.

Lilah was not dumb enough to answer immediately, some times the obvious answer is not the right one. She had a feeling Bellatrix was asking for specific actions not a general answer.

"One thing I did right was that I entered the room slowly, any faster and the blow would have knocked me off balance instead of just confusing me. One thing I did wrong was I was looking straight ahead instead of looking around, if I had looked to the side I might have seen that coming and either dodged or blocked." She answered fully.

"Good answer, now can you tell me why it is you could answer that question without my help, but when you entered the room you didn't use that knowledge?" Bellatrix inquired smoothly negating the compliment.

Again Lilah had to think for a minute and even than her answer was slow and hesitant. "I entered this room the same way I would enter any room that I hadn't been to before but knew that was where I was supposed to be. I was not expecting the attack."

Bellatrix smile at that was anything but comforting. "Now you understand why we have the first rule be always stay alert. When I am done with you today I want you to enter any room, familiar or not, the way you would if you knew there was an enemy behind the door waiting for you. The way we are going to do that is you are going to walk out of the room and back in over and over again. When I feel you have learned this skill to my satisfaction we will move on, this is the simplest thing you will ever learn from me, but there will come a day when it will save your life."

Lilah was not swift in complying with the seemingly simple exercise. She knew there was going to be a catch somewhere, there had to be or the exercise would not work. For some reason Lilah felt she would end this training session as paranoid as old Mad-Eye Moody.

Reentering the room she remembered to look around herself, she relaxed a bit only to be hit from the right the blow knocking the wind out of her since she had relaxed. "Do not relax until you have seen the whole room!" Bellatrix barked from her spot far enough back Lilah couldn't have seen her yet.

The next time she went in she was hit from above. "The easiest spot to hide from someone is above them, remember to look up too!"

On the next round she wasn't hit at all, only to be hit with two rapidly fired strikes on the next entry. "You have to learn that even if an attack doesn't come once it might the next time!"

Bellatrix was never in the same place twice. She would occasionally not fire a spell but that was rare. Lilah eventually figured out the spell she was dodging was a very mild blasting hex that meant if Bellatrix really wanted to she could kill Lilah with the same spell she was using to train her. The thought made Lilah's blood turn to ice but she quickly pushed the idea out of her mind in order to concentrate on anticipating the attacks.

After several hours of being battered around Lilah was able to dodge three strikes in a row, but was too tired to jump away from the next one. "We will stop here for now, but this shows we need to work on your stamina, in the middle of a raid you can't afford to miss a dodge just because you are hurt or tired. Trust me exhaustion is easier to recover from than a round of Crucio and if the Light side doesn't feel like dirtying their hands the headache from a stunner is almost as bad as a three day hangover." Bellatrix warned the exhausted girl.

She didn't bother to tell Lilah that the girl had held up better than expected. With the little to no physical activity at Hogwarts, even the seventh year students would have trouble staying on their feet after an hour of constant dodging and attacks. If Lilah had the ability to hold up even this long, something must have pushed Lilah further than any Hogwarts curriculum would have done. Just what had happened to her Lord's heir before she had been brought home.

Who was Lilah Rayne Snape-Riddle? Bellatrix had a question that she just didn't know the answer to and it was starting to annoy her. She knew she should have some idea. There were times Lilah had acted and sounded like someone she knew. Her instincts were screaming at her that she was on to something, but for the sake of her sanity she pushed the matter to the back of her mind, she explained the familiarities away by saying she was just acting like her father's but she knew deep down that was wrong. She had known Lilah before and sooner or later the truth would come out.


	14. In My Daughter's Eyes

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**In My Daughter's Eyes**

Lilah was excited for today's class. She would get the chance to spend some time with her dad. Severus and her had not gotten the chance to speak a great deal since all this happened. She knew they would have to focus on training for the most part, but it would be the most contact she would get with him for quite a while.

She was nearly bouncing in her chair as she tried to calm herself enough to enjoy her breakfast. It seemed a near impossible task, she was just too hyper. She imagined the novelty of having a family to meet would fade as time went on, but for the longest she had assumed she had no family.

Grabbing her cloak she fled her room to head towards their training room, information provided by yet another note. She walked a bit quicker through the halls than the past few mornings, but slowed down her pace enough she wasn't seen running. Her lesson from Narcissa had outlawed running unless there was an emergency.

Entering the small room she had been directed to cautiously, her lesson with Bellatrix still firmly in her mind, she saw the room was empty save for a desk with two chairs and her father sitting in one of the chairs. At his wave she came over and sat in the chair opposite to him.

"I have checked in with Miss. Granger at Hogwarts. The Weasley boy was at fault for the scare. He had been attempting to tell others your secret and she was forced to silence him and Obliviate him." Severus informed her.

"I figured that might be what had happened. How has Dumbledore explained Harry's absence?" She asked eagerly.

"Remember Lilah not as much time has passed for them as it has for you." Severus reminded. "So far you have only missed one day of classes, right now he had told whoever asked that you are sick and quarantined in the hospital wing for privacy. There is an Order meeting tonight, I imagine he is going to have everyone looking for you if you do not turn up by then, if the Order can not find Harry he probably has some excuse planned out already."

"I can't wait to hear how people react to this. I actually find the whole circus amusing now that Harry no longer exists. I hated it when I was in the middle of it though." Lilah confided.

"You really didn't like your fame did you?" Severus realized.

"I hated every second of it, before I found any of this out all I knew was I was being demonized or admired for having my parents die. Who wants fame that badly they would pay with the lives of their family? It sure wasn't me. Even with Dumbledore's fake version of events it wasn't even my power that saved me it was Lily's love." Lilah ranted.

"I never thought about it like that," Severus grudgingly admitted. "I just assumed you were too young to remember them and all you knew was the fame. I was sure it had gone to your head. Lily really was a good friend in school. That was one thing that was not a lie, even when I thought you were her son and not my daughter, I fought to protect you because of her. Dumbledore probably fed you some line about a life debt from James but that is a lie." He glanced up at Lilah's dark crimson eyes and for a heartbeat wished he was still looking at the bright emerald of his best friend. The last thing that had connected Lily to the land of the living was gone.

"What really happened back then? I know some of what I was told is the truth but most is lies, so what happened?" Lilah demanded.

"Black really did trick me into finding Lupin in his transformed state, I thought Lily had been in danger, I may not have loved her but she was one of my only friends. When Potter heard what his best friend had done he pulled me back from what they thought would be my death. The thing about life debts is they are only owed if the person doing the saving is actually doing it to help the person in danger. Potter was not concerned about me, he was worried his best friends would be expelled. I protected you because you were Lily's son, not because I owed anything to James Potter." Severus explained haltingly.

"Wait if that's true about life debts, than Pettigrew owes me nothing, Dumbledore thought he would owe a life debt but I didn't do it to save his life. I did it to keep Sirius and Remus out of Azkaban." Lilah put together.

"True, and if you still believed the headmaster and at some point in the future expected that life debt to save you it would probably end up killing you." Severus warned.

"Well I am glad I know the truth now. Thank you for telling me. Dumbledore had told me the truth of most of the story, he just twisted the outcome so I would be more moldable." Lilah answered.

"I think we had better start getting some work done, don't you? Your father will not be happy if we wasted all our training time talking. For today I am going to test your current knowledge of your classes. We have the advantage of filling in any gaps and teaching you everything the right way." Severus laid out the plan.

Lilah agreed and they started the review with first year and worked their way up, Severus conjuring up parchment and quill to take notes on Lilah's progress. There was a lot of room for improvement, it would not be easy to teach her everything she needed but they would manage somehow.

They ended the lesson with a tentative hug, "I am glad we got to talk today." Lilah whispered.

"Thank you for being honest, I am truly sorry I couldn't see how much you hated the spotlight." Severus replied.

Lilah pulled out of the hug with a small smile on her face. She was soon sent on her way with yet another stack of books to read, but she didn't care, her dad and her were finally starting to understand each other.


	15. Talk To Me

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Talk To Me**

Lilah carefully entered the room her father had asked her to come to, her session with Bellatrix still firm in her mind. She found him standing beside a heavily curtained window, not moving, and not acknowledging her presence until she was right beside him.

"How much do you really know about the Dark?" He asked suddenly turning to face her.

"Only what you have told me and the lies I have been fed by the Light side." She replied.

"They were not all lies, as my heir you will come to see the Dark for what we really are, but you should never let your guard down around us. Any number of my followers could turn on you without a moment's warning and end your life. My followers do not like anything changing, most have been taught how to act according to a tradition beaten into them by their families for generations. Few approved of my choice of a half blood lover, and even fewer would approve of a female heir from such a union. They would listen to a pure female or a half-blooded male but not both in the same body." Voldemort explained.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Lilah asked as her heart beat out of her chest.

"When the time comes for me to pass on my power you have to be prepared to kill any who object to you. If you show mercy and let them live they will not be so kind to you. You can not afford to have enemies amongst your own followers, I can't get rid of them now because I need every man I have at the moment, but when the time comes hopefully our major opponents will be taken care of and you will not need them alive. New truer followers will come in time to fill their places if we wait for the opportune moment."  
He warned.

Lilah sighed as she thought over her father's words. "I do not think I can just kill someone without a reason, but in defense of myself should be enough of one for me, at least for starters."

"I had hoped you would see it that way. It will be my place to teach you the skills you will need to lead a legion of Dark wizards and witches. I am going to teach you the magic you will need to know to survive."

"When do we start?"

"Now," Voldemort answered starting the lesson in earnest.

Hours later and yet at the same time Lilah fell into a heap in the cozy chair in her room. She was careful to not make enough noise to wake her slumbering past/future self lying on the bed. She was just so tired she needed more rest.

When she finally woke up again she realized she had fifteen minutes to make herself scare before her other self woke up. Slipping out of the room, and donning her ever present hooded cloak, she wandered to the Library to pick up her study hours for the day. Not even a full week had passed and she was already tweaking the ridged schedule to suit her attention span better. Instead of spending solid blocks of time doing one task she simply did what needed done here and there. Always careful to avoid herself, though wearing the cloak she could actually keep from bumping into any incarnation of herself.

She tapped the book in front of her with her quill as she thought over her father's lesson. He was definitely not what she had expected. He was as powerful as Dumbledore had feared and more, but there was far more to the man that carried her than power. The man had an absolute brilliant mind. She was upset that brilliant mind had been lost to madness for so long. Lord Voldemort stood a chance of doing great things in the wizarding world but because of her he was reduced to nothing but a raving lunatic.

She knew no one truly blamed her, but it didn't matter she carried enough guilt from her own self loathing to cover any one else's hard feelings. It was her fault her entire life had been a lie. Her fault so many children were orphans. Her fault her father had lost his mind and her dad his love. Everything was her fault even the deaths of the people who took her in out of the desire to protect a war orphan.

It was her fault everything had gone wrong. Her first friend had been obliviated by her best friend, and she had broken a poor girl's heart. How awful a person must she be to cause all this destruction.

With these thoughts circling her mind, and visions of her past plaguing her she did something she hadn't done since witnessing the death of her Godfather.

Lilah cried. Not soft tears but large burning wet drops that slide down her rapidly reddening cheeks, as feral howls pulled from her throat.

She didn't hear the person come into the library but when she felt arms around her she practically jumped out of her skin as the tempo of her crying fit remained the same. The arms didn't let go, but a voice she was too far out of it to recognize asked softly.

"What happened?"

"My fault. Everything was my fault. I caused so much pain. I really am a freakish monster. The Durlseys were right I bring nothing but pain and death. You should let me go before I kill you too." Lilah muttered near incoherently.

"You did no such thing," The voice reprimanded, making a mental note to do some digging on a family named Dursley.

"But I did. Father lost so much, dad too and for what? They lost everything for my sake and in return all I bring is grief." She wailed.

"You didn't make them do anything. It was not a child's fault for their parent's actions. No child can control the adults around them."

"Then they would have been better off not to have a child."

"No, they are happier right now than I have ever seen them. You are good for them no matter the hardship you all faced getting here. I want you to think about all that had happened and find the true culprit. You didn't do it, but I can see the only one who can convince you of this is yourself."

Lilah didn't respond she just leaned further into the shoulder presented to her and cried her heart out.


	16. Just Like New

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Just Like New**

4 Private drive was as muggle and muggles could get, it was the picture of quiet muggle life, with a nosy wife, crude husband, and bully of a son. It was here her research and subtle panning had led her. Blending in wasn't a problem as she was cloaked in invisibility spells. No one wizard or muggle would be seeing her in this place, she would rather return to Azkaban.

This was the previous home of Lilah Rayne Snape-Riddle, the heir to the Dark Lord. It was quite possibly the most muggelish home the curious witch had ever seen. It had taken her weeks to find the location of this house. Although any wizard worth their salt at the ministry should have noticed the anomaly of a heavily warded muggle home in the middle of nowhere, and therefore knew someone of importance to the magical world was being kept hidden. Alas the ministry was full of fools and she was not surprised at such an oversight. Only one question remained, if Lilah was in disguise, and therefore not known to wizards, than what face was she wearing before that needed this many ministry sanctioned wards?

She watched that awful house for hours, hoping to get some hint of who Lilah used to be. She could tell these muggles were just as horrible as Lilah had told her and more, they were truly horrific creatures. They never once mentioned magic of any kind in all the hours that she watched them. It was truly only one tiny, nearly insignificant, detail that told her what she needed to know. A piece of mail came for Petunia, baring the name Mrs. Petunia Evans Dursley, the name Evans was definitely known to the witch.

Lily Evans, Gryffindor muggleborn, married James Potter, Gryffindor pureblood, they had a single child, one Harry James Potter.

A gasp was heard in the corner of the back lot on 4 Privet Drive as the pieces fell into place. Things started to make sense to her, and a lot of questions were answered. The heir to Voldemort was the same person the Light wanted to kill him. This was definitely an interesting turn of events, and it begged the question, did Voldemort know his precious daughter was his mortal enemy?

This warranted further investigation. There was too many unanswered questions to just leave it as is. She only had to decide to go to Voldemort or Lilah first to ask those questions. She didn't know which one to go to if she wanted to come out of the meeting without being cursed within an inch of her life and sanity. Voldemort was insanely protective of his daughter and only heir, while Lilah herself was risky encase this was all some elaborate plans she didn't want revealed.

She realized she would be late for the meeting with the object of her musings if she did not get out of there immediately. She moved far enough away her foreign magic would not be picked up by the impressive wards surrounding the house and apparated away to Riddle manor.

During their daily, or they seemed like daily to her, they had slowly moved from making Lilah as paranoid as possible into actually fighting each other. Lilah was often seen hobbling away from them covered in bruises that would be nearly faded by the next meaning, those marks being the only true indicator of how much time was passing as Lilah used the time turner.

She was not really sure if she was ready to see Lilah so soon after figuring out the truth. It had only been a few weeks to her since Lilah had arrived but to the heir it was more like months. If Lilah really was who she said she was, then she would probably be worried that she meant to hurt her, but if not she would be confronted with a world of trouble.

She just kept one of her ready-made masks up while teaching the girl her next lesson. Hand to hand combat was something Lilah was actually enjoying learning, and was fairly good at too. She was still a novice and therefore Bellatrix won the majority of the time, but there were occasional times when Lilah could get lucky and win.

Today was not one of Lilah's lucky days, as Bellatrix was worked up and it made her even more aware of her surroundings than usual. Lilah seemed to pick up on the increased awareness, but didn't move to question it.

It wasn't until near the end of the lesson that Bellatrix had an opportunity to confront Lilah. She had the younger woman pinned to the ground unable to retaliate, and it was too good a chance to pass up.

"When were you going to tell us you were once Harry Potter?" Bellatrix growled at Lilah.

"Harry Potter is dead, he died at birth." Lilah answered honestly, seeing no way out of the situation other than the truth.

"Who are you really than?" Bellatrix snapped at her.

"I really am the daughter of Tom Riddle and Severus Snape, they know the truth already if that is what you are thinking. In fact none of us would have known until it was too late if it weren't for Sire's potions lessons. It was his class that told us the truth in the first place, and he was there the night the glamours forced on me came off." Lilah explained quickly.

"How were you taken from your father's and placed with the Potters?" Now Bellatrix was just confused.

"That is a very long story, the short of it begins and ends with Dumbledore, he orchestrated the whole thing." Lilah admitted.

"How many people know the truth?" Bellatrix inquired curiously.

"Including you? That leaves six people other than myself, it would have been seven but one had to be Obliviated." Lilah replied.

"Why did you leave the light side?"

"Were you listening just now? It was Dumbledore who ruined my life not father, I decided to give father a chance when the Light side wasted all of theirs." Lilah answered.

"So you really did change sides, this is not a ploy?" Bellatrix asked unnecessarily, she already believed Lilah's story.

"Yes, I really did switch sides. Harry Potter was supposed to die and remain dead, no one else was supposed to know I am still here, just changed to my true self."

"I will keep your secret, but others are bound to find out sooner or later, your relatives house might as well have a large target painted on it. If I could find the truth in less than a day, a legal search team could dig up the information easily." Bellatrix pointed out.

"That would just lead them to a dead end. They might find out where Harry Potter used to be, but since I have not gone back since my disappearance, it will be just another broken link."

"I can only hope you are right, if not this could lead to riots."

"I am aware of that, hence the reason very few people know the truth."

"Let us hope it stays that way."

"Yeah, now could you let me up? We have training to finish." Lilah reminded Bellatrix she still had Lilah pinned down.

Bellatrix moved off the younger woman, still wrapping her mind around the truth. She had figured out the puzzle now the whole picture was starting to make sense. She decided to forget what she knew about Harry Potter and give Lilah Riddle a chance, she really was a completely new person.


	17. House of Cards

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**House Of Cards**

Lilah didn't know what to think or do, someone had found out her deepest secret. Her heart had nearly stopped beating while Bellatrix was confronting her, and it was still not back in its normal rhythm even hours later. For ages she had been worried about just such a thing happening and here it was staring her in the face.

What was she supposed to do about this? Bellatrix hadn't threatened or hurt her, so why was she so frightened of her reaction? The older woman was scary certainly, but after all this time Lilah was used to her, so what was the matter?

Her lesson the next day was with Severus and her obvious distraction was enough for him to put aside the planned lesson and carefully coerce the story out of her.

"So Bellatrix knows the truth now, I wondered if one of them would figure it out with you being with them so much." Severus confessed.

"I know we thought this might happen, but what do I do now that it actually has?" She asked for his advice.

"I suggest you wait and see what happens, remember she is not the insane person you thought you knew. Look at how different you are now compared to before, give her a chance to get to know the real you, and you should get to know her. I believe you could learn a lot from each other." He advised cautiously, in truth he didn't know what would happen with Bellatrix, but he honestly hoped things would work out.

"I guess I really don't know much about her, I haven't been here for all that long yet." Lilah admitted.

"Any more questions or could we get back to the lesson now?" Severus requested.

"How goes the search for the missing Harry Potter?" She asked mischievously.

"They are going to give it one more month and if you are not found you will be declared legally dead. All of your assets will be held in trust for a following three years, if at the end of that there is still no sign of Harry Potter everything is portioned out to any remaining family members and close friends." He explained.

"With Harry dead I can finally be free of the unwanted fame." She remarked wistfully.

"Oh you will still be getting a lot of attention, the daughter of our Lord and an Inner Circle member will be highly sought after in our ranks." Severus warned, just the thought of all the suitors asking for his daughter's hand when it was time for her to make her debut was enough to make him growl.

"I am not interested in that at all, you can get that look off your face now." She replied.

"What look?" He inquired.

"The one that has your hand twitching towards your wand ready to hex anyone that comes near me. I can take care of myself, and I really am not interested in anyone right now." She assured him.

"It is my right as your father to look after you, that is just one of the many duties of a father towards his daughter." Severus defended himself.

"Just remember all this training I have been going through is to turn me into a fighter, with all the lessons I won't be like most girls, you can relax." She reminded him. "Now I don't have any more questions so we should get back to the lesson, I will prove to you I do not need the protections."

"I will always be watching over you, but I will give you some breathing room to." Severus compromised before going back to the lesson.

Lilah felt much better after her discussion with her dad, it was what she needed to bring her confidence back. If something bad was going to happen than she would be ready for it, and as she just said she was no weakling, she could defend herself if things went bad.

What she didn't like was the idea of being some kind of trophy wife, if what she gathered from reading between the lines was any indication, she wanted to be loved not coveted there was a big difference. She hadn't lied to Severus, she had no interest in anyone just yet. She had recovered from the fiasco with Ginny, but was not ready to play the game again.

She put her fears out of her mind and threw herself into her studies, working as hard as she could for as long as she dared, hoping to keep herself too tired or busy to think. She grew stronger, faster, and bolder as she practiced. Unknowingly attracting the ever growing interest in Bellatrix to her.

Bellatrix was always watching and evaluating the younger girl. Whenever she found the time she observed her. Bellatrix wanted to know everything about Lilah and she was a quite efficient stalker. She overheard the conversation between Lilah and Severus, and she found it curious that Lilah was not interested in anybody. Bellatrix had assumed at her age she would at least be browsing the available males if not actively searching for someone.

In all the time she observed Lilah she never spared a glance for the others in the manor, she was a specter in a hooded cloak floating about the manor only speaking to her teachers, two of which were her parents. It was almost unnatural how much time Lilah spent on her own, despite being with a teacher every moment of the day in normal time.

Bellatrix felt lucky that she was the one who got to see Lilah truly in action, while it was true Lilah was a powerful witch her fighting skills were amazing. She learned fast and fought hard, making sure if she had to take a life it would be quick and clean. Bellatrix had lost count of the amount of blades Lilah carried on her person besides her wand. While swords and daggers were a bit outdated they were actually better tools to use if they were working in the muggle world, they were trying to hide magic not expose it. Plus, if Lilah was attacked by a witch or wizard then they would most likely not be expecting a muggle defense.

Bellatrix wondered why she was so obsessed with Lilah, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Her husband had been killed not long before Lilah came to live at the manor, Bellatrix fooled herself into believing she was simply finding something to do to fill the hours.

It took her weeks to figure out the truth, and she didn't like it one bit. She was falling for the Dark Lord's heir.


	18. Touch Me

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Touch Me**

Lilah noticed the change in Bellatrix, the way the woman's eyes followed her everywhere, they way she touched her as they fought. Juts little things really, nothing that couldn't be explained away on their own but together it added up to something, and apparently Lilah wasn't very good at math because she didn't know the answer.

It was in desperation that she started looking back, in curiosity that she touched, and it was in complete insanity that she liked it. The more she looked the more she wanted to stare, the more she touched the more she wanted to hold. She couldn't believe what was happening, but the more she experimented the bolder Bellatrix grew.

By the time Lilah figured out what was happening it was too late to put a stop to it, and she didn't want it to stop anymore. She was falling for Bellatrix and if she was right, Bellatrix wanted her just as much.

They were in lessons the day it happened. The hand to hand combat had gotten rougher as time passed and this session had left them with Bellatrix slamming Lilah against the wall of the dungeon, and holding her in place as Lilah struggled.

Suddenly as if in a trance Bellatrix leaned down and gently brushed their lips together. Pulling back suddenly wondering if Lilah was going to be disgusted, she was surprised to find herself being grabbed harshly and brought back for a much deeper kiss. "If you think you are getting away with just that you are sorely mistaken." Lilah growled as they broke apart for air.

"Your fathers are going to kill me," Bellatrix predicted but didn't bother to move out of Lilah's grasp.

"I believe they would prefer you over some immature little boy with one thing on his mind." Lilah pointed out, "Oh and that would never happen anyway because I am gay."

"Have you told them about this?" Bellatrix asked concerned for the younger woman.

"Not directly, but Sire figured it out and what he knows Father does too." Lilah explained.

"I want to warn you if you pursue this I play for keeps. Don't start anything you don't want to finish." Bellatrix warned once she knew her actions would not provoke homicidal tendencies in over protective fathers.

"I'm willing to take the risk." Lilah answered before kissing her again. Bellatrix' body was as hard as her lips were soft. The older woman had muscles tight as ripcords and yet her body curved and swelled in all the right places and Lilah was enjoying exploring every inch of the body in front of her. With warm hands caressing her as well Bellatrix was wasting no time in getting to know the body she had watched from afar for so long.

They stayed wrapped up in each others arms for as long as they dared, even with the time turner it was still risky to take extra time, someone could walk into the room believing it to be empty and find them there. Lilah's presence was still a secret shared only among the inner circle members, but not for much longer at the rate Lilah was learning.

With that one encounter life became much more interesting for Lilah. She had to admit it was so much different from being with Ginny when she had still been Harry. Something deep within her had known Harry was not her real state of mind, and anything Harry had done that was decidedly masculine had been shoved to the back of her mind, leaving her free to live as a female without as much carry over from being male at one time as she had thought she would.

She liked the times she was found in the corridors and ravished, the older woman able to find her despite the time difference. Lilah had to remind herself several times a day that time for her was much longer than Bellatrix had so the older woman was more or less with her constantly.

With each encounter they became closer and more physical growing bolder and more confident with each other, they knew what the other liked or didn't like. They were each others drug, the thing they needed to keep their systems going. To be touched and to touch as much as they pleased with a willing partner was something they both relished in.

Bellatrix found the relationship to be so much more than the arranged nightmare that had been her marriage to Rodulphus. Narcissa had gotten lucky in that her arranged marriage was with someone she actually liked spending time with, that was the reason the Malfoys had an heir and the Lestranges didn't. Bellatrix couldn't make herself want to have children with him, and if a witch did not want it there could be no child.

Just like a same gender paring could have children if they wanted them enough, if you didn't want them you didn't have them. It explained why there were so few wizarding families like the Weasleys, you had to want seven children to have seven children. Their reproductive oddities ran off the same well spring of magic that children used as accidental magic, all it took was the force of will to get what you wanted or needed.

Not long after their declaration, Lilah's father held her back after her lesson with him. "I have decided you are strong enough to be presented to our forces. As my heir they need to be comfortable with your command should anything happen to me, and we are at a point in the war waiting any longer to familiarize you could be detrimental."

"When are we going to do this?" Lilah asked shortly, shocked that it was time for that already.

"In real time it is tonight, but you will have two more days to prepare yourself with your time turner." Lord Voldemort informed his daughter.

"I will be ready for it," Lilah reassured getting an approving nod from her father before he dismissed her to her study time.

Twenty minutes later she had tracked down Bellatrix and explained what had happened. As they discussed how she should act around a force made up of mostly men Lilah would have been blushing if she knew the thoughts running through Bellatrix' mind. 'After the meeting will be the perfect time, oh yes, she will never forget it."


	19. Second Chance

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Second Chance**

Lilah lounged in the hot bath, letting the soothing water carry away her doubt and fear along with the dirt from the day's training. It was tonight, everything her teachers had been working towards. All her hard work would be put to the test, hopefully she had learned her lessons well. It was time for the Dark host to meet their new Lady.

Rising from the bath tub she reached for the still warm towel she had placed out before getting in the water. She dried herself off the best she could while walking to her bedroom to change into her waiting outfit. There could be no doubt who she was this night, on her bed laid out carefully, was a blood red gown, black silk cloak, and a silvery half mask to hide her face. Dressing carefully she ran a brush through her still damp hair, knowing it would look better if she air dried it rather than using a spell.

Pulling the mask over her eyes she took a deep breath and for the first time since her training started she walked out of her room without her time turner around her neck, tonight she would not be needing it. Waiting outside for her was Severus.

"Are you ready for this?" Severus asked his daughter one last time.

Looking straight into his eyes she replied, "Yes I am."

Taking her arm, he lead her to the meeting room where the third member of their little family was already waiting for them. "I know he has asked if you are ready, I want to know if you are sure you want to take the Mark?" He asked, for once reluctant about casting that particular spell. Putting his daughter in pain, even if it would tie them closer together, was not a thought he relished.

"You have Sire Marked, I will bare the sign of our family without remorse. I do not regret my decision, I am ready for this." She reassured for what she hoped might be the last time.

"I will not ask again, it is time to take your place, Severus I need to borrow your arm," Lord Voldemort ordered slipping into his Lord guise easily. Severus lifted up his left robe sleeve without hesitation. He braced himself for the quick jolt of pain, he knew it would be amplified if his lover was using anyone other than him. The nature of the spell itself made it impossible to do without causing some pain, but a strong wizard like Voldemort could moderate the pain.

Within moments of his call, the Death Eaters began to arrive, some better prepared than others for the call, the inner circle closed ranks much faster than the lower ranks. Lilah felt her heart rate increase as adrenaline rushed into her system, she found herself enjoying the feeling of elation, she was absolutely ready for this.

"The time had come for a new power to rise, my heir has returned to us, you will defer to her in all matters save my own orders. I give you the new Lady Riddle," Voldemort introduced his daughter carefully concealing his pride in her, some in his ranks would find that a weak spot and try to exploit it, he refused to give them that power over him.

Lilah stepped out of her father's shadow, turned towards him and bowed low in difference to his station and power. Turning back towards the waiting Dark Ones, she stood silent waiting for their reaction.

The first comment someone was angry enough to vocalize was simply, "A GIRL?"

"She carries my blood in her veins, as well as that of an inner circle wizard, her power outshines her gender." Voldemort spoke hoping to ease the tension among his more traditional followers.

"Prove your power girl, and I will call you Lady." The stubborn man insisted.

"Very well, I will answer your challenge, come forward and face me." Lilah decided for herself, speaking calmly with an edge of command. Narcissa had worked with her for hours on the correct tone of voice to use, and she passed that lesson with flying colors if the looks on the spectators' faces was anything to go by.

The man swaggered to the front, with a bit of a hitch in his step, he seemed to realize a bit late that even if he did win, he would probably face her enraged father. He knew who would win that duel, the odds of his escaping this night was not good, for a heart beat he almost hoped the girl would live up to her speech, if only to save him from the Dark Lord's wrath.

Lilah was ready for him, by the time the man had his wand drawn Lilah had one of her daggers in the air and her wand in her hand. The dagger found the sensitive patch of flesh of his shoulder her spell was deflected by his rapidly cast shield, he would not be an easy win even if he was wounded. holding a hand to his bleeding wound he cast a severing charm at her, causing her to jump away from it cast a banishing hex back at him mid dodge, striking like lightning. It caught him in the stomach, rocking him in his stance, throwing caution to the wind he cast the Cruciatus at her which she barely moved out of the way from. Realizing the stakes had just been raised she started casting the darker curses, one of her crucio's hit the man and while he was on his knees from the pain she stunned him and summoned his wand.

The duel had only lasted about five minutes, and there would be long debates over whether she won by luck or skill, but turning to her father she presented him with the loser's wand. "I have earned my place in your ranks, I wish to bare the mark of my success." She asked him formally for the benefit of the watching death eaters.

"Come forward my daughter, and receive your prize." He answered just as seriously. Letting her, and only her, see the pride shining in his eyes as she once again bowed before him sliding up the sleeve of her black cloak.

"Morsmordre!" He enchanted with his wand tip pressed against her pale arm.

She held her ground through the pain, her teeth clenched and eyes blazing with the effort it took to remain silent. Watching in curiosity as the mark was elegantly inscribed in her skin, and feeling as the doorway to her father opened wide connecting them on a soul level. She felt him more keenly than she felt her own needs and wants in that single moment of complete bonding. Then, as quickly as the pain had come, it receded, and the feeling of total openness between herself and the Dark Lord faded until he was just another presence in the back of her mine like Hermione and Ginny already were. The fresh mark still stung from shock, but nothing that couldn't be ignored, pushing her sleeve back down she turned to once again face the assembled ranks, never having made a sound during the process, a feat most of these men couldn't claim.


	20. Kiss Me Deadly

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Kiss Me Deadly**

Bellatrix watched impassively as the woman she was coming to love proved herself to the dark host. She unlike some others, knew the mark placed upon her was different from the normal mark. The connection was formed much deeper in their minds, the result of which was while they were fully linked mentally they were not condemned to live the lifespan of the other. When one of them died the connection would just fade into the background where if she were to lose her lord it would tear her mind into pieces.

The meeting was not held for a very long time. The sole purpose of it had been Lilah's debut, now that was over and the only reports Voldemort was willing to listen to tonight was the ones that may require immediate attention, or at least it seemed that way to the death eater giving it. They soon learned the true importance of their missions with his response to their reports some of those responses were not what the follower was expecting.

During one such report, Lilah looked up into the crowd and caught Bellatrix' eyes with a smoldering gaze. The older woman felt her body heat up at the sight, she had always known Lilah was powerful, but never before had the dark heir showed any sign of recognizing that power. There was now no doubt in her mind that Lilah had accepted her own strength and she felt great pride in the young woman.

Only one other person caught the exchange of glances between the Dark heir and the consummate actress. Their eyes narrowed behind their silver mask, just what was going on here?

When the meeting was finally over the Death Eaters apparated away from the clearing with varying degrees of acceptance and skepticism, they would have quite a bit to think over and reevaluate. A female heir was something that had never even entered their minds before tonight. None of them had even known the Dark Lord had a child, let alone it's gender.

Lilah breathed a near inaudible sigh of relief as the last of the unfamiliar death eaters left, leaving her alone with the ones she felt comfortable with. She felt her father's hand squeeze her shoulder as her dad gave her a brief hug. "You did well," Severus complimented his daughter's performance.

"I never had any doubts about your abilities, you are of my blood after all." Voldemort explained loosening his hold on her shoulder, giving her silent permission to leave when she wanted to.

She somewhat gratefully accepted the offer and stepped away from her father's side, her only thoughts circling around changing out of her finery and crawling into bed. She surprisingly never noticed the graceful black shadow following her to her room.

She did notice when she was shoved backwards into her bedroom, hot lips claiming her own as a very feminine growl emerged from her attacker. "A performance like that deserves a reward."

Lilah having no complaints allowed the older woman to dominate the exchange with roaming hands and lips caressing every part of her body. They steadily shed clothing as they stumbled towards the bed. Their only care was for revealing as much skin on the other as possible. Neither woman truly gave up control as they shared in the giving and taking with equal abandon.

Bellatrix and Lilah had similar skinny frames, the elder's from her long harsh years in Azkaban, and Lilah's came from years of mistreatment. They both carried scars, lots of them, from too many occasions to count. Each just as pale as the other from almost never seeing the sun. Yet none of that mattered as they kissed and touched and loved.

Rising up to meet each other half-way the heat and sweat causing their bodies to meld together. Pushing the boundaries of what they had already done they fought for dominance, the battle just as fun as any result that might happen after it was won. Lilah using a fierceness she hadn't known she possessed pushed Bellatrix back down, and the older woman let herself be pushed, curious as to what would happen next.

Lilah began trailing burning hot kisses down her neck, stopping to nip and suck in a few places. When an experimental bite pulled a groan of pleasure from Bellatrix she bit down a little harder, pulling reddish blue bruises onto her pale skin. With the pleasure mixed with pain Bellatrix scraped her nails down Lilah's side reflexively, but was pleased to notice she wasn't the only one who liked a touch of pain, and repeated the action. They continued exploring with hands and lips with unabashed abandon. The feeling of ecstasy swelled inside them as they moved as one. Learning and exploring with glee.

The night continued on in the same manner long into the early hours of the morning where they finally relaxed into each other's arms a warm glow of contentment helping to ease their minds of any doubts they might have had about their actions beforehand.

"Lilah we both know what happened to me to give me my scars, what about you? I know if you had gotten any of those wounds here you would have been healed immediately, fewer scars would have formed. What happened to you before you came to us?" Bellatrix asked quietly, hoping to get an answer for once.

"I have not led the sheltered life people believe I have, in either form actually. On the light side all they saw was the image of their savior that got shoved down their throats daily. They never saw the over sized clothes, or how small I really was. No one ever bothered to check on my home life even after they had watched me come into Hogwarts a living wraith. No one suspected that under those clothes I was hiding these. My guardians were not nice people, they didn't beat me to within an inch of my life every other week, but they didn't moderate their punishments. It made no difference to them whether I was just deprived of food or was hit a few times with a fist or belt. It wasn't horrible, but it was a far cry from, the happy contented life most of the wizarding world thought I had.

I now believe the Dark side thinks I have been hiding and training my whole life, until I was strong enough to prove my place. They would never believe that I was raised in an abusive muggle household, immersed deeply in the light side. I am fully a part of the Dark now, but it wasn't too long ago that I was truly a Light wizard, even without Dumbledore's influence I was a Light person. To be truly honest if the Light side had actually cared for me while I was with them, I might have considered staying as I was. If anyone is to be blamed for my 'betrayal' its Dumbledore." Lilah admitted for the first time.

"I suspected as much, I have been to your old guardian's house that was how I found out who you used to be. I watched them for most of the day and I didn't like what I saw. The light side has driven more than a few of our followers too us. Wizards who walked the line in school, or played in the more dangerous branches of magic was automatically labeled as one of us, regardless of true allegiance. These people find the support and understanding they thought they would get on the light side on ours." Bellatrix responded.

"Have you always known you were a Dark witch or was there ever a time when you honestly thought about your allegiance?" Lilah asked curiously, knowing almost nothing about her lover's past.

"I was born into the dark side, I knew I would be a part of it at some point, and I never thought I would ever want to change that. Until my sixteenth birthday, I was informed by my parents that they had arranged a marriage for me, and my betrothed would be Rodulphus Lestrange. I had absolutely no choice in the matter, even the date and the guests were out of my hands. I was not the only one, Narcissa was also in an arranged marriage, but she could at least get along with Lucius, I absolutely detested my match.

On my wedding night I was practically raped by my new husband, and every night thereafter for a few years trying to produce an heir. I had no interest in having his child, my magic responded to that by blocking any chance of pregnancy. When he realized what the problem was he struck me, only once, and walked away. Our marriage became nothing more than a competition over who could hurt each other more. That was the point in time I began to hate the dark side, not because I didn't believe in the cause anymore but because with all their duties and obligations to our lord and his cause no one was there to help me out of the hell I was in.

I got over it when I grew older and realized I believed in the Dark more than I wanted out of my loveless marriage. I began to devote my entire life to the Dark and its Lord. I became his most devoted follower simply because of my actual choice in serving him. For most on the Dark side following him is a habit firmly ingrained into them from their families, not out of any true thought or choice in the matter. Those that honestly chose this path and threw themselves into it became our Lord's inner circle, the rest falling into ranks behind us." Bellatrix explained, starting slowly but gaining strength as she went on.

"I am curious to know if the Inner Circle knew about my father and sire being together. It wasn't very clear to me whether he was acknowledged or not. Just being the Lord's right hand man doesn't make them lovers automatically." Lilah took full advantage of having an inner circle member alone without her fathers able to overhear the conversation.

"Some of us suspected the truth, but it was never directly stated as it wasn't any of the followers business what the Lord did in the bedroom as long as an heir was produced, and here you are." Bellatrix answered with a small smile, she had been one of the ones who figured it out before Lilah's birth. Mainly because she hadn't been able to help being slightly jealous of Severus, baring or siring the heir of the Dark Lord was a great honor even if it wasn't always widely acknowledged. It meant the Dark Lord thought you were strong enough to give his heirs the added strength they would need to not only equal but surpass their father. The goal of the Lord wasn't just to further the cause but to make sure the next generation of leaders was stronger than the last.

"I can't help but think I missed out on having a family twice. I know even if they weren't my true parents Lily and James would have cared for me, they were only told I was a war orphan, they did not know the truth about me. If I had stayed here I would have had both of my followers, and father may not have lost control so completely, and dad may not have changed so much either." Lilah whispered quietly.

"I have always wanted children, but the idea of them coming from Rodulphus sickened me. I am an aunt now, and I spend a lot of time with Draco, but it is not the same as raising your own." Bellatrix understood where Lilah was coming from, even if it was from the opposite perspective. "Now we need to sleep you are training again tomorrow and even with a time turner you are going to be tired. We will talk more later."

Lilah answered that with a yawn and snuggled further down into the covers arms securely wrapped around Bellatrix, both of them drifting off into a contented slumber.


	21. One Girl Revolution

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**One Girl Revolution**

Lilah woke up the next morning with bleary eyes and a satisfied smile on her face, the warm body beginning to stir next to her own adding to the contentment of the moment. A luxurious stretch and a lazy casting of Tempus later and she was scrambling out of bed. For the first time since her training started she had slept in for Narcissa's lesson. Even with the time turner she knew she was going to be a few minutes late. She could not go back the extra hour, too much danger of waking herself or Bellatrix up.

After a quick shower and dressing, making sure her time turner was once again secure around her neck, she took the time for one last smile at the still slumbering figure burrowed into the blankets before rushing out of the room. She strode quickly through the manor, after her debut the night before she decided to go without her trademark black cloak, the few death eaters roaming around at this hour met her presence with startled glances and hurried bows of varying degrees of sincerity.

She finally reached the only connected floo in the manor, tossing in a handful of the waiting powder she shouted the coordinates for Malfoy manor. She managed to remain on her feet on the other side only through weeks of painful practice with both Bellatrix and Narcissa, she needed to be agile for fighting and graceful for formal occasions.

She rushed to the sitting room, where most of their lessons began even if they didn't stay there. Narcissa was waiting for her there, and only years of working closely with her told Lilah she was irritated with the waiting. "Do you have any excuse worth hearing to explain your lateness?" She asked coolly.

Lilah couldn't help but blush slightly before answering, "I overslept, it won't happen again."

"Alright, but because of this you will be worked much harder than planned today, make sure this is not repeated, a lady is never late to any appointment." Narcissa reprimanded, but let it go more easily than expected, she had honestly expected a girl of Lilah's age to be late far more often than once in all the time they had been practicing, a time turner could only do so much without risking paradox.

"Seems fair," Lilah agreed with the punishment. Not voicing her relief at the result not being much worse.

Narcissa was good at reading people. She knew her student was not in the best state of mind, if she felt relief at the assignment of extra work, how was she punished in the past? She found herself groping towards the same truth Lilah had willingly told Bellatrix the night before. She would observe Lilah for the rest of the time they were together, no matter what got in her way.

"Alright Lilah, now that you have been revealed as the dark Heir it is now more important than ever that you act like it. Today we will be reviewing everything I have taught you about how to act in front of others. Your father is much to visible to go out into the world and collect information or followers, you will be the perfect choice for those missions. Act your part well and you will truly earn your place. This will be a double length lesson for you, I hope the extra sleep serves you well." Narcissa informed Lilah as she lead the young woman to the formal dinning hall of the manor, where a lavish dinner was placed on the fine china, Lilah would have to host the meal without making a single mistake.

It took hours of going over everything again and again, Lilah was tired and frustrated with Narcissa picking out mistakes that seemed microscopic to Lilah, but Narcissa was quick to remind if she could tell Lilah was making mistakes than any other properly educated lady could tell as well.

Lilah was more than ready to escape when she was finally dismissed from Malfoy manor. She was almost back to the floo room when she heard a familiar voice call out to her, "Who are you and why are you here?" Draco Malfoy was right behind her with his wand out and pointed at her back.

Lilah turned around slowly and graced the pale boy with a disarming smile as she replied, "I am Lilah Riddle, I have been taking lessons from Lady Malfoy for the past few months, and you are?" She remembered to ask who he was, because as Lilah she shouldn't know.

"I am Draco Malfoy, Narcissa is my mother, you are the new Heir are you not?" Draco asked recognizing her name, he had hastily lowered his wand once he realized just who he had threatened.

"Yes I am, I take it you are not Marked yet?" She inquired remembering she had not seen him at her debut.

"No my parents wanted me to wait until this summer, for me to be a legal adult." He explained quickly.

"I will be seeing you at your Marking ceremony then," Lilah excused herself smoothly and was finally able to leave the manor. She had not been expecting to see Draco this soon, though she should have known it was coming with her coming to his house for lessons every day.

She found Bellatrix still in bed after she returned and flipped her time turner back to just after she had left before. Stripping down to her undergarments she collapsed back onto the bed and curled up against the older woman's chest and felt the warm arms snaking around her waist, snuggling into the warm embrace she easily dropped off into sleep. Assuming the next 'night' would be spent in Bellatrix' room as the bed was empty next to the older witch.

XXXXXXXX

Time passed for Lilah growing in ever increasing comfort with her role as heir. Her place was hard won as her authority was questioned every meeting, and with every challenge she won she confirmed her position even more. The training she had been undertaking was truly paying off as she surpassed every one of her teachers expectations, and for her first mission she was assigned to attend a ministry charity event, her escort for the night was Walden Macnair, the ministry's executioner for the control of dangerous creatures department. He was a powerful inner circle member that was trusted enough by her father's to be her bodyguard for the night, it helped that Lucius and Narcissa would also be there.

As she stood in the decorated atrium of the Ministry dressed to the nines and on the arm of the only slightly familiar wizard, she couldn't help but miss her Bellatrix. She easily fell into her training though and adopted the haughty, but serene mask of a society witch. The intricate dance of politics was one she still had trouble with, but she would do her best to make her teacher proud. It was no coincidence her first mission was also one that at least one of her teachers could closely monitor.

She was to make as many connections as possible with these wizards tonight, under the assumed name of Leto Rayne for the benefit of the Light wizards that may have gotten information about her from a spy, not likely but possible. It was simply not safe for Lilah to go to a purely Light function baring her true name. Her disguise was further protected by a thorough back story, completely valid if anyone got curious enough to check. Leto Rayne was a pureblood from a small family that migrated to Britain in her mother's time but they ancestrally attended Durmstrag institute, which is where she had graduated from. She had graduated with moderate scores in her core classes, and was as of yet unbetrothed. The information had been planted in all the right spots by well placed Death Eaters. The Dark Lord had been working on his daughter's Light disguise since he knew she was still alive, Lilah had been completely unaware of these plans until she was assigned this mission. Her acting skills were being put to the test, and she was happy to admit even her lover would be proud of her performance.

She spoke to the right people, laughed at just the right times, and used her unusual good looks to get just the right amount of attention. It went against everything Harry Potter had learned, but in this life Leto Rayne was the belle of the ball, she easily spoke to the minister without giving away a single thing of importance, and had him wrapped around her little finger with just a few moments of conversation.

Then she looked up and realized she knew the wizard who had just entered the hall, and was making a beeline towards the spot where she stood talking to the minister, Macnair staying quiet in the background as the Dark Heir worked the room with all the charisma of her father.

"Hello, Cornelius what a delightful turn out this year, and who is this lovely young lady you are talking to?" Lilah heard the edge of danger in Dumbledore's voice, so he had recognized the features she inherited from Tom Riddle.

"This is Miss Leto Rayne, who has been entertaining me with her charming wit, Lady Rayne this is Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, he runs Hogwarts school." Cornelius Fudge introduced, fully believing she had graduated from Durmstrag and therefor would not know Dumbledore outside of papers.

"There is no need to introduce him minister, I have read a great deal about him in the papers." Lilah replied politely before turning towards Dumbledore and extending her hand. "I am interested in your fine school headmaster, Hogwarts truly does seem exceptional, though I have noticed your unusual amount of bad luck with Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. How goes the search this year?"

Dumbledore did not wish to make a scene by calling her out on her identity instead he took the offered hand and replied in his customary kind voice. "It is lovely to meet you Miss. Rayne, thank you for your kind words about my humble school, and I have to confess we have not yet found a Defense teacher for the upcoming year. I am sorry to pry but I am curious about your accent. You speak like you are from Britain but yet you did not attend Hogwarts, how is that possible?"

Lilah laughed softly before answering, "I was wondering if you would notice. I was raised in Britain by my mother, but my family has always attended Durmstrang, I attended that school on account of my familie's wishes. I graduated three years ago." She gave him as much information as she could that would keep Leto Rayne and Lilah Riddle separate. Lilah did not have a mother, and would have willingly attended Durmstrag, not protested like she had implied. It was hard to wrap her mind around the fact it had only been a few months in the real world, but it had been three years for her.

"May I inquire who your parents were? You just seem very familiar to me?" It seemed like Dumbledore just couldn't hold himself back.

"My mother is Natasha Rayne, and my father was killed when I was a small child. Mother does not like to speak about him, it hurts her too much, I do not even know his name." Lilah lied once again, it was better for her father to be dead, then for her to be illegitimate in pureblood society.

Dumbledore just silently relaxed his posture, he truly believed Lilah was telling the truth, and that for her to look so much like Tom Riddle she might just be his daughter and not know it. It would explain her mother's pain and silence, and Voldemort was banished when she would have been four, right around the time Leto's father died. She was too old to be Harry coming back to him, and no time turners had been reported stolen or missing for ten years. That gave him an idea that if Harry was out of his reach, this unknown daughter might just be the missing key to destroying Voldemort. "Well would you be interested enough in Hogwarts to consider teaching for me? The Defense post is getting hard enough to fill that if you even achieved an Exceeds expectations on your Defense NEWTS I would be able to hire you on the spot." Dumbledore offered, taking the bait Voldemort and Lilah had laid out in her story.

They had honestly been hoping it would take him longer to figure out the false truth they had placed in Leto's story. She was not quite ready, but with two months real time for her to continue training, it would be close enough to the planned four years of tutoring that Lilah felt confidant enough to accept Dumbledore's offer. "I would be honored to teach at your school, and as for test scores I managed to achieve an Outstanding in Defense." Of course both of them glossed over the fact that at Durmstrag Defense was grouped into a larger class just labeled Dark Arts. Dumbledore was so concerned about a possible new fighter for his side he was willing to gamble with the safety of the children in his care, it was positively sickening to Lilah.

"Very well, I will double check your records but I see no reason not to welcome you to the Hogwarts staff, I expect you to arrive at Hogwarts one week before September 1st to set up your classroom. Please have a set of lesson plans outlined before that date for years first through seventh." Dumbledore ordered, beaming at his newest staff member unaware of the murderous thoughts running through the dark woman's mind.


	22. Halo

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Halo**

Severus and Lilah could not arrive at the school at the same time, it was better for Severus to get there a few days before Lilah arrived. It was lunch time in the great hall, and all the professors that normally ate there had already arrived, Lilah was the last to enter with a pretty red dress and simple gun metal gray traveling cloak. She walked with her head held high right up to stand in front of Dumbledore's seat. "Ah, Leto, please join us, don't be shy." the old man invited and Lilah seemed to chose a seat at random, but it actually put her as close to her father as she could get without making it obvious that was the intent.

"Hello dear, I don't believe you went to school here, would you please introduce yourself?" Madame Pomfrey was making a rare appearance in the Great Hall with no students to attend to yet and she had turned her kind eyes and soft voice on Lilah first.

"My name is Leto Rayne, and you have a good memory. No I did not get the privilege of attending Hogwarts, I went to Durmstrang." Lilah admitted gently, falling into her new role easily, she had been taught by the best after all.

"Well welcome to Hogwarts Professor Rayne, I am Poppy Pomfrey the school's medi-witch, I will usually be in the infirmary during the school year if you are ever in need of patching up, Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers usually have a need for my skill about once a month." The comment was worded as a friendly warning but Lilah knew it would be a bad idea to put off her words as exaggeration, she had seen the previous year's classes after all, but Pomfrey didn't know that.

"I will remember that," Lilah replied remembering to make herself pale, she should be a little nervous about physical wounds being discussed like it was common knowledge, which it technically was, but that didn't make it normal.

Lilah busied herself with filling her plate with food and eating in the slow and precise manner she had been taught by Narcissa, after all her cover story was that she was a part of a small, but proud, pureblood family, she would have to act the part. She had already established that she rebelled against the harsher pureblood belief's but simple etiquette wasn't something you could brush off in the old families.

There was no talking as lunch progressed, the Professors were probably enjoying the mostly silent Great Hall, because once the student's arrived they wouldn't be able to eat a quiet meal again, unless it was special ordered, and that was frowned upon.

"Well, Leto if you are finished with your meal, I can show you to your quarters?" Dumbledore offered seeing the cleaned plate in front of the young witch.

"I am finished Headmaster, that would be lovely," Lilah replied graciously as she rose from her seat to meet the Headmaster.

"Please, call me Albus, you were never my student and are now an employee of mine there is no need to be so formal." Dumbledore allowed, not knowing Lilah would rather choke on her own spit than call him him by his first name. Not too mention every time Lilah called him Headmaster it was subtle jab at him, he was so ready to use his position for the good of the war, he put his students in danger from an unknown person.

"If you insist," Lilah said that with far more grace than she felt.

"Then please follow me," Dumbledore invited, leading her out of the Great Hall and up the sweeping staircase. The further they went along the familiar halls the more Lilah began to suspect where she would be placed.

Her instincts were confirmed when they stopped at a portrait not twenty feet from the fat lady. The portrait held a pretty, young, girl in a spring green dress painted in front of a forest scene. "Sylvia, this is Leto Rayne, she will be your new tenant. Please allow her to set her own password, and guard her well." Dumbledore introduced the portrait to Lilah.

"Welcome, Leto, what would you like as your password?" The girl, presumably named Sylvia, asked.

Lilah was about to speak when she realized Dumbledore was still listening, not trusting the man an inch she gave the portrait a fake password for now, "Refuge."

Dumbledore nodded at the password then informed Lilah. "Now Leto, you are allowed to decorate the rooms inside as you see fit, if you would like anything added on, please come to me as I will ask Hogwarts to accommodate your wishes. Inside you will find a map with directions to your office and classroom. Also I should probably warn you that these rooms are not far from the Griffindor dormitory, you may see more students in this area than you would other portions of the castle."

"That is fine, I am sure the students know better then to go into places they are not supposed to." She replied with a smile.

"Well, the Gryffindors are a curious bunch, but they are all good kids and would never do anything to hurt someone else." It was at that point that Lilah had the most trouble playing nice with the headmaster.

"You may want to warn them that I always ward my rooms, at Durmstrang it was encouraged to try and infiltrate another's living space, practice for the real world. I won't use anything overly harmful but they will know better than to try again." Lilah warned, although she was lying through her teeth. Only the perimeter wards would be harmless, if someone got through those and actually attempted to intrude without permission they would get more than a little shock.

"I think you will find you don't have the same worries here, but I will leave a message posted in their common room about keeping their adventures confined to allowed areas only." Dumbledore agreed, but Lilah caught the mile wide loophole in his words. He was actually going to allow the Gryffindors to wonder around, and telling them there was an interesting place that was off limits would pretty much guarantee they would try to find it.

"Thank you Albus," Lilah replied already making plans to expand on her wards, "Now I would like to get settled in, I assume I will see you at dinner?"

"I will leave you to it then, and I attend every meal in the great hall unless urgent business calls me away." Dumbledore assured before sweeping down the hall.

"Sylvia, please tell me I am allowed to change my own password, and you are not required to report changes to the Headmaster?" Lilah asked the portrait who had been listening in on their discussion.

"Only the house dormitories are required to report their passwords, and he gave you permission to set your own password didn't he?" Sylvia replied.

"Thank you, the new password will be Morsmordre," Lilah informed her, making sure none of the neighboring portraits could hear her words.

Lilah walked into her new rooms with a smirk she would play the innocent young girl until it was time to strike. She wondered just how long it would take for them to see the horns holding up her halo.


	23. Seven Year Ache

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Seven Year Ache**

Lilah found the rooms beyond the portrait small but comfortable, everything was different shades of beige, which she quickly remedied with a few swishes of her wand. She was lucky in that enough people had holly wands hers would not be recognized as belonging to Harry, especially after she had her initials carved into the bottom, Leto Rayne and Lilah Riddle having the same initials was not a coincidence. She played it safe with using dark blue and silver instead of red or green, she was going to act the part of a neutral party down to the last detail.

After changing the color scheme she spent the better part of an hour placing intricate wards around every point of entry, some able to judge the intent and identity of the intruders went on the outer portion, the ones meant to deter anyone not invited from entering were placed on the interior portions. She stopped herself from using lethal wards, but only barely, she thought the skin scalding one might be a bit too much until she remembered just how easy it was for an enemy to infiltrate Hogwarts.

Only after she was completely satisfied with the protection on her room did she pick up the map to her classroom and office, of course she already knew where they were, but Dumbledore didn't know that. Though she was a bit surprised with the one shortcut from this room to there, it would have saved a lot of grief during her student days in the castle if she had known about that particular passageway when she was still Harry. She traveled through the familiar halls at a deliberately slow pace, she couldn't show that she knew where she was going just yet. It was for the best that she walk slowly and maybe even get lost a time or two in the first few days of being at the school.

The classroom was exactly how she remembered it from her sixth year, nothing had been changed in the year she had been gone. That just wouldn't do, there was too much sitting around the room that would distract the student's attention away from the lesson. She began to banish items onto shelves or into drawers only to be pulled out when they were needed. The next thing she did was rearrange the seating, instead of individual desks pressed into rows she created round tables that sat six students each. She cleared the front of the classroom of any objects to make any demonstrations more visible to the seated students. She was not planning on staying in one spot the whole lesson so every student would get the chance to see her demonstrate new techniques no matter where they were sitting, not to mention she wanted to have the students up and practicing their magic as much as possible, they would really only be sitting for the first few minutes of the lesson were she would tell them the spell they would be practicing.

Satisfied for now about her classroom's layout she headed towards where she knew the Defense teacher's office was located. It was bare and waiting for her to furnish it, wiping out her wand she started on making the office into her own useful space. The same blue she had used in her personal rooms went on the walls, she also put up her, faked, credentials from Durmstrang. Her NEWT and OWL scores were also put up on the walls, these not fabricated as she had taken and passed them on her own merits. She didn't have any dark detectors or personal photos, she decided to keep the office functional and free of clutter as she added shelves and cupboards for storing graded work or soon to be given tests. When the time came for advancing the student's knowledge on creatures or objects she would order them as they were needed.

Sitting down at her desk she pulled out clean sheets of parchment, a quill, and a fresh bottle of blank ink. It was time to put her lesson plans on paper, well most of them anyway. Some of the things she had decided to teach would not be put in any kind of permanent record. If Dumbledore wanted to know about them bad enough eh would either have to talk to a student, or sit in on some of her classes. She wasn't going to teach dark magic, but she was planning on explaining it. Even when she had been in Hogwarts herself it was never explained what made magic dark or light, and there really was no indication of severity of a dark spell. A spell was just labeled Dark and left at that, and that was more dangerous than having the students know the truth, their was truly dangerous magic that should never be practiced by anyone who valued their lives and sanity, and then there was the kind of dark magic that was just destructive and painful. Knowing the difference just might save some of the students from killing themselves.

She wanted to include some of the fighting techniques she had been learning from Bellatrix, as well as a few of the poisons and antidotes she had picked up from Severus. She felt a more rounded education would be better for all the students whether they would fight with her father or not. Dumbledore might forget his position was meant to guide and protect the students, but she wouldn't. Even though teaching was just part of the ruse the Dark was using to get more information of Dumbledore that didn't mean she was going to ignore what the job actually meant.

She spent the rest of the day working on her plans, as she wanted to give them to Dumbledore as soon as possible so he didn't have any reason to come looking for her, just seeing him at meals and staff meetings was going to be hard enough. She really had no patience for his games anymore, now that she had been taught the rules, she had a whole new understanding of both her father and the Headmaster. Soon though Dumbledore would find out she was a serious opponent in this game, after all he might have been the chess master, but they were not playing chess now were they?

XXXXX

Lilah couldn't believe how fast time had moved, it seemed like only a day had passed since she had arrived at the castle but it was already time for the students to arrive. She had been introduced to the rest of the staff at the previous night's staff meeting and all had gone well. She wasn't suspected in the least for being Harry Potter, but she did catch a few nervous glances passed her way. After all the previous year's defense teachers Lilah was suspecting it was a habit to distrust the new professor just on principal.

It was evening now and she was heading towards the great hall for the feast, the students would be here in twenty minutes. She wasn't afraid of them, after all her training she knew they didn't pose much of a threat, but she was curious to see just how many of her previous friends would pick up on who she was. Though only Hermione and Ginny actually knew what she looked like now. They would know her on sight even though she had aged a few years since they were last in the same room together.

Reaching the Great Hall she slid into the seat next to the one her dad usually sat at, she knew he probably wouldn't show up until the last possible minute. She had made a point to slowly spend more time with Severus over the last few days so it wouldn't look odd if they sat next to each other at most meal times. They were both being very cautious not to draw attention to themselves, while Lilah did take after her father more, she did still look a bit like her dad if you thought to look for it.

She was proven correct when it took a further fifteen minutes for Severus to reach the hall. He looked even more irritable than usual and Lilah remembered her own fear of the man from her first year. She knew now he did enjoy teaching but simply couldn't stand all the students who wasted his time without trying to succeed in his class then proceed to claim it was his fault they didn't learn anything. Also anyone would get tired about constantly being under suspicion, even if the suspicions were mostly true in this case, that didn't make anything easier.

There was a rush of sound now reaching her ears as the upper years started to file into the hall, they were all talking and laughing as they caught up with each other again. Those that hadn't found their friends on the train were greeting each other with hugs and big smiles in the hall. Lilah was busy looking for two familiar faces, but it was just her luck that the first red head she saw was Ron. He looked exactly te same as he had when she left, the only difference was this year he walked alone. Apparently after she had been whisked away he had started going out of control, only worsening after the obliviate had been cast. He had made his own bed and he wasn't liking having to sleep in it.

Not long after Ron arrived she caught sight of Ginny's long red hair, and standing next to her was Hermione. Hermione was the one to spot her first, she nudged Ginny's shoulder and whispered in her ear. Lilah saw Ginny's eyes widen and turn towards the teacher's table, it was very comical to watch but Lilah hoped they both had the good sense to rein in their reactions quickly, before they drew attention to themselves. Though she did believe that if Dumbledore saw Ginny looking at her like that he would attribute it to her looks, after all Ginevra Weasley was the only student other than Harry at Hogwarts to know what Tom Riddle looked like.

Lilah saw McGonagall get up and leave the hall, presumably to fetch the first years, it wasn't until all the other students were seated that she brought them out of the little antechamber and lead them to the front of the hall. Lilah thought they all looked exceedingly young compared to what she remembered from her own first year. They all wore different expressions of awe, terror, determination, and anticipation. They had just seven years to grow and learn before being thrust out in the real world, and Lilah couldn't help but wonder just how much would change in those seven seemed to be a good number of them too, more than in Lilah's year in any case.

She watched the sorting with interest, Slytherin and Gryffindor got an equal number of students while Hufflepuff had a few more and Ravenclaw a few less. She recognized quite a few of the Ravenclaw and Slytherin students as children of her father's fighters, and there was even a scattering of them among the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students. She would keep an eye on those students as well as though from the prominent Light families, if there was going to be trouble in her classes it would come from the clashing of those two groups, but if she could get them to work together and maybe even trust each other than she could get more people on her father's side. She would prefer the children stay neutral though, fighting adults was a different matter than fighting children.

When the last student was heading towards the Ravenclaw table she saw Luna sitting at the end of the table closest to the teachers and she had a funny little smile on her face while looking at Lilah, somehow Lilah knew Luna had probably figured out who she was. She made a mental note to talk to the odd girl soon. She might as well be honest with one of the few people who had understood her even when she was Harry.

Finally Dumbledore tapped his goblet to get the student's attention. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts, the staff and I hope to make this a peaceful, productive year for all. Just a few announcements before the feast. First the rules are going to be enforced with even more diligence, as students of this school it is your responsibility to be up to date on all rules and regulations but the most important are no magic in the corridors, no wondering around passed curfew, and absolutely no students are to enter the Forbidden forest. Second I would like you all to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Leto Rayne." Here Dumbledore paused for the polite clapping from the students. "Lastly I would like to inform all of you that you are well protected inside these walls and do not have to worry about anything but classes and homework, bad things are happening in our world but soon they will come to an end. Now as I have spoken for long enough I believe it is time to eat."

Lilah watched as with a wave of his hands the house elves sent the food up to the house tables and their goblets were filled with pumpkin juice. Leto made a point of quietly toasting each table before taking a sip of her drink and serving herself from the platters in front of her. The school year had started and it was time to pull off the most elaborate acting of her life.


	24. A Touch of Evil

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**A Touch of Evil**

Lilah was admittedly excited as she waited for her very first class to enter the room. She was starting out with the Seventh years, and because it was a NEWT level course all the house were mixed together. They looked a bit confused at first when they saw the round tables and not the desks they were used to. Lilah had to hide her grin when she saw Hermione enter the room, just as much as she had to hide the grimace as Ron entered. She knew he didn't remember who she was, but that didn't mean she didn't feel the sting from his rejection.

Lilah made her way to the front of the room when it looked like everyone was there. "I know this class has had a history of very poor teachers, to the point to catch you up so you are on the same level as graduates from other schools will be nearly impossible. I am willing to work with you, and I will not give up on you, I expect the same courtesy in return. I will push you to your limits and beyond, I will set more work for you to complete than any teacher before me, if you go through with this I can make you the best you can be. Any questions?" She spoke sharply and to the point, she was going to be strict and fair, just like her teachers at the manor had been with her.

"What side are you on?" Ron burst out at the next second, not even trying to be subtle about it.

"Does it matter? If I do my job right you will be able to defend yourselves against any attack, be it friend or foe." Lilah replied, just to see how Ron would react.

"It does matter, I know I don't want to be taught by some evil death eater!" Ron protested with the exact wording Lilah had expected.

"How many years have you been at this school Mr, Weasley? You are a seventh year like the rest correct? Well in your six previous years name your three favorite defense teachers." Lilah challenged.

"Professor Lupin was the best!" Ron responded quickly.

"I said three can you not think of a single other teacher that taught you anything of worth?" Lilah expanded this question to the rest of the class with a gesture.

Looking around she spotted a few hesitantly raised hands. "Miss. Brown can you perhaps name another?"

"Well Professor Moody did teach us the Unforgivables, he even taught us how to stop the Imperious curse." Lavendar stuttered a bit at being addressed, she was typically ignored in favor of the more well known students.

"You do realize that it is illegal to cast an Unforgivable on another living being, but you just admitted that the lesson was valuable correct?" Lilah asked her again, wanting to encourage different trains of thought in these students.

"Yes," Lavender admitted.

"Alright so we have an example of a teacher that used an illegal technique to teach you something, but it was still valuable to learn. Now tell me what did Professor Lupin teach that made him your favorite Mr. Weasley?" Lilah rounded back onto Ron, wanting to drive home her point.

"He taught us how to repel Boggarts and other dark creatures, we learned a lot from him." Ron answered defensively.

"I am sure you did, but what do you consider to be more important in the art of Defense for the times we are in, how to repel a Boggart or how to block the Imperious curse? Difficult times sometimes call for harsh measures Mr. Weasley, and during the last war with Voldemort even the Light sided Aurors were given license to use the Unforgiveables as necessary." Lilah informed him.

"Evil is evil, and I don't want to learn any of it," Ron said seriously not taking in a word Lilah had said.

"Listen well Mr. Weasley evil exists inside every single one of us, how we use it determines whether we catch criminals or become them. An Auror is no different than a Death Eater, they are simply fighting for different things, but they are still fighting. If you truly do not want to learn about anything evil than you might as well leave my classroom now, there will be nothing of interest for you here." Lilah warned him before turning to the rest of the class. "Anyone who shares Mr. Weasley's opinion should also leave now."

Lilah was not surprised when the only person to leave in a huff was Ron, although she did wonder what had made the hot headed wizard change so thoroughly since the time she left. Her best guess was without the grounding force of being friends with the boy-who-lived, Ron was free to be the person he had been destined to be had he never met Harry.

"Excuse me Professor Rayne, but do you really believe that? That it takes just as much evil to fight the dark side as it does to be on it." A Hufflepuff, Susan Bones, asked quietly, not sure just how volatile Lilah's temper might be.

"I believe it with all my heart, I have seen both sides of this war, I was raised in Britain, but attended Durmstrang academy. Deep down there is no difference between evil people and those that fight them." Lilah was very careful not to say which side she thought was the bad side, it was too early in the game to reveal that just yet.

"But isn't the point of Defense to protect ourselves against the bad guys, why would that make us just as bad as them?" Susan asked with a bit more boldness as Lilah had responded kindly.

"To learn Defense is to learn the Dark Arts, it is that simple. A good example of why that is would be your current charms class, you learn both the spell and the counter, correct?" This time Lilah waited for a positive nod before continuing on, "You can't learn the counter to a charm without knowing the original charm. All Defense Against the Dark Arts are is a Charms course with a much more harmful curriculum, in Durmstrang it is not a secret that students are learning both branches of magic, Hogwarts tried to hide it, but in the end it is all the same. To learn something is to understand it, to understand it is to know it, to know it is to be it." Lilah explained carefully, just as it had been explained to her. "I am going to help you protect yourselves and others by helping you understand the magic you will be facing in the real world, that means with me as your teacher you will go deeper into the dark arts than you ever realized you were going before, but the difference will be I will not lie or hold your hands through the process."


	25. Need You Now

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**Need You Now**

_Ginny/Hermione_

_Please come to my office tonight, we have some plans to go over._

_You may tell others where you are going, you won't be gone more _

_than a few hours. I will make sure you are back before curfew._

_LR_

The two girls were startled when in the middle of their separate Defense classes a parchment appeared on their desks. Reading through it they knew they would finally get to know what happen to their friend after she had been smuggled from Hogwarts. Severus had only been able to give them vague updates for fear of someone overhearing them. They did know about the time turner and knew when Lilah said they would only be gone for a few hours she meant it, no matter how long their talk lasted.

They managed to hide their excitement through the rest of the day, but it wasn't easy. Hermione had it the hardest, she had Defense as her first class of the day and had to wait through all the rest, Ginny didn't have Lilah's class until after lunch.

There was never a student so eager to get to a teacher's office as Hermione and Ginny were after classes were over. They made hurried excuses that they needed to talk to Professor Rayne and somehow managed to make the trip from Gryffindor tower to Lilah's office only take five minutes. The second they were in the door a tight three way hug commenced. No words were exchanged as they just reminded each other they were real and safe. Lilah hadn't seen her friends for four years, this was heaven to her.

Nothing disturbed them until there was a light tapping against the door, like someone was trying to knock without making a lot of noise. "There is someone I want to introduce you to." Lilah told her friends as she finally let them go and opened the door.

Imagine the girl's surprise when the corridor outside the office was empty, they were just about to put words to their confusion when the door closed seemingly off its own accord. Their surprise quickly turned to shock as Bellatrix Lestrange materialized out of thin air as she removed Lilah's invisibility cloak, the Marauder's map clutched in her hand.

Bellatrix immediately had two wands trained onto her before Lilah could even say a word, to put an end to any thoughts her old friends had of attacking Bellatrix she stepped in between the wands and her lover. "Ginny, Hermione, stop that! I invited her here." Lilah commanded as the two girls sheepishly lowered their wands. "A lot has happened, and she is a big part of it, come with me we have a lot to talk about." Lilah continued on as she went to a bookcase along the back wall of the office. Pulling out a single book on the top shelf she was rewarded with a grating sound as the bookcase slid to the side and an entrance to her living quarters was revealed. The only way to explain a passage that had to extend between many floors and opposite sides of the castle yet only last about a foot was magic.

"Alright, start talking," Hermione said as soon as they were settled in the comfortable seating area of Lilah's rooms.

Lilah and Bellatrix took turns to tell the whole story over the next two hours. Everything from the first time Lilah had been introduced to her father, up until she was accepted as a Hogwarts teacher. Lilah finished off the explanation by saying, "The Dark side is exactly that, dark, but we have a purpose and a mission. Our methods of completing that mission may not be acceptable to the Light side, but if we left it up to Dumbledore to fix the problems of the wizarding world magic could die out completely."

"So much has happened to you, its almost hard to believe, I can't believe you took the Mark but I can understand you wanting to be connected to your family. You seem happy though, and I believe Bellatrix may have something to do with that," Ginny observed as she looked to where Bellatrix and Lilah sat on the couch touching shoulders with linked hands. "You were never this happy when you were a servant of Dumbledore, and if the Dark side was truly as bad as the light portrays it I wouldn't be seeing that small smile on your face, or the determination in your voice. You are more confidant now than you ever were, and strong, I can tell just by looking at you that you have been training hard. If this is what the Dark side does to its soldiers than I am convinced it is the right way to go."

Hermione continued from there. "I agree with Ginny, you are looking so much better. I listened to your lecture in class today and I agree with it completely. You managed to get everyone to think about what is really going on in this world. Challenging the traditional roles of Dark and Light, and obliterating them. You made more sense in a single class than all six years of Dumbledore's speeches. I can honestly say even if I wasn't your friend I would be following you and not the Headmaster."

"Thank you, it means a lot to hear that, and yes Ginny I am happy. I am confidant because I know exactly what I am fighting for, and I have a pretty good idea of how to achieve that. I have worked hard to get this far, and I will not stop fighting until I'm finished with my job. I am more ready than I ever was to fight, and it is all because someone actually decided to tell me the truth. I want to do that in my classes, and maybe just maybe we can get through this war without any bloodshed."

"Now please tell me what in the Hell happened to Ron? I can understand him being too shocked to support me, but I was shocked to see him act so recklessly in class. You would think with how good he is in Chess he would have more tact, if he really wanted to make a point he should have been much more coherent in his objections." Lilah observed, still not understand the complete turn around.

"After you left, Ron's temper started to get the better of him. He was almost always yelling at someone, and without you to do his homework with, he stopped caring. He was so mad at Hermione he didn't even bother to ask her to check over his work anymore. His marks in class started plummeting and he had detention at least once a week. There was a night not long after you left that he snapped and started raving in the common room about how you had run off to the dark side and betrayed us all. Hermione Obliviated him, removing any information he had about who you really were. He still wasn't the same after that, he got paranoid and even angrier. I don't think he could play a game of chess and win anymore, let alone make an intellectual argument." Ginny confessed, her sorrow at what was essentially the loss of her brother obvious.

"I'm sorry Ginny, I didn't know this would happen, but I still wouldn't go back and change it. Ron forgot that I didn't ask for any of this, I am just doing the best I can with what has happened, it is not anyone's fault but his own if he can't grow up." Lilah replied gently, not wanting to upset Ginny anymore than she already was, but she wasn't about to lie about her feelings towards the hotheaded Weasley.

"I don't blame you, I know it is Ron's own fault for doing it. I am just mourning my brother, because he is dead to me, and in Ron's place is this thing. I don't know why he couldn't change and adapt, but he didn't and we are just going to have to live with it." Ginny responded, never intending to make Lilah feel guilty. She has known long ago her brother's temper was going to get in his way at some point.

Hermione felt the need to change the subject to spare Ginny some pain, so she turned to Bellatrix. "You love Lilah we can all see that, but does her father's know about you two?"

"Yes they know, it isn't something we wanted to hide. If you are expecting a funny story full of death threats and heart attacks you are not going to get it. They approved of us, and Lilah is an adult now she can make her own choices, even if they did object their is nothing they could do." Bellatrix replied coolly. She hadn't known these two girls long enough to completely open up to them, but didn't see any harm in answering that question.

"I was more shocked that they did approve, than they were at the situation itself. My dad was concerned, but he got over that fairly quickly." Lilah explained deeper. If she showed she trusted her friends, Bellatrix might grow to be more comfortable quicker.

"I was friends with Severus in school, Narcissa and I would look out for him when Lucius could not, he would be concerned about the age difference but not about Lilah's safety. I have proved my faith in the Dark side and loyalty to our lord enough to earn the Dark Lord's approval." Bellatrix volunteered slowly, extending a tentative olive branch to these girls. She wasn't afraid of them, but she was concerned that if she offended them too much Lilah could get angry with her and she didn't want that.

"It is odd to hear Professor Snape called by his first name, but thank you for explaining that. I had been wondering about that." Hermione thanked her as Lilah squeezed her hand in support and gratitude.

"I have the same issue with hearing him called Professor." Bellatrix admitted, relaxing at Lilah's approval, she had never cared for someone so much before. She honestly loved this powerful, and beautiful, woman at her side. Love makes people do odd things, even making friends with people who not long ago were on her kill list.

"Hermione, I think it is time for you and Ginny to be getting back to Gryffindor tower, Hermione you have used a time turner before, go back two hours and you will be back in plenty of time before curfew. Go into my office to use it and leave it in my top desk drawer, I will go get it in five minutes when I am sure you are gone." Lilah told her friends, wanting some alone time with her lover, as much as she missed her friends, she could see them all year. It would be a very rare event for Bellatrix to sneak in.

"Thank you for taking the time to explain everything to us, see you tomorrow at Breakfast." Hermione thanked her as she took the golden hourglass pendant from Lilah's outstretched hand. Her and Ginny disappeared into the office.

"Thank you for accepting them, it means a lot to me," Lilah told Bellatrix kissing her gently, wanting to restrain herself long enough to fetch the Time Turner not wanting to leave it sitting unprotected in her office all night, the two hours would be enough of a risk.

"I love you Lilah, if what you want is for me to be nice to them, I will be." Bellatrix admitted.

"I love you too, and more importantly I love the way you are, do not change into something you are not just to try and please me. I can't be any happier than I already am." Lilah responded kissing her again, deeper this time.

It was Bellatrix who spoke when they broke apart for air, "Go fetch your trinket before we both forget. When you come back I will be here."

"I know," Lilah replied with a kiss and a smile, reluctantly getting up to go get the precious object, leaving the most precious thing sitting on the couch, shivering in anticipation.


	26. Beautiful Lie

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Beautiful Lie**

Lilah lay on her bed late that night, or early the next morning, she wasn't sure which, but she was awake and drawing invisible pictures on the sheet covered abdomen of her lover. Sleep eluded her, despite Bellatrix's best efforts to tire her out. Her mind was so full of plans and thoughts of the future that the sleep she needed in this moment was nothing more than an annoying background buzz. Rolling so she was close enough to hug Bellatrix to her she held the older woman and breathed in her familiar scent. They would not be able to chance these encounters much during the school year, so every moment was precious and meant to be savored. The minutes ticked by as Lilah's mind swam as she let her senses fill with the presence of her beloved, Movement wasn't happening anymore than sleep was, and it was in this way that then night passed.

Bellatrix left Hogwarts while the sky was still the steel grey of pre-dawn. Sneaking out under the cloak with the aid of the map, avoiding trouble. Lilah knew they were playing a dangerous game with her charade as Leto Rayne, she may be found out at any time. Better for her to be a simple Dark side spy then having the truth about her past known. She had left all obvious traces of Harry Potter, like the cloak and map, in the care of Bellatrix until all this was over. It was Bellatrix herself who came up with the idea of using them to spend time with Lilah during the school year.

Now Lilah was going to have to get through a day of classes without the benefit of sleep, and she had the first year Slytherins and Gryffindors in the first block of the day. They were a rowdy bunch to say the least, and the most excitable about just about everything. Normally they were a lot of fun to teach, but Lilah knew this would be a day where coffee had better replace her pumpkin juice at breakfast if she wanted to get through it.

Breakfast passed quickly, with Lilah already missing Bellatrix, and at least this morning there was no random explosions or fighting at the students table. That put a relatively good spin on what could have been a very unhappy day for Lilah with a missing lover. She headed out of the great hall 15 minutes before the students were supposed to, noting the absence of her dad and wondering if he may have been meeting with her father last night. Lilah knew they had private meetings about once a week now that they were back to school. Dumbledore was aware of half of them, otherwise it would look odd for Severus to turn up missing so often. Lilah was not allowed to attend meetings while playing Leto so she relied on Severus for up to date knowledge of Father's plans.

Finally class began and she started with another lecture.

"Alright class, I have a question for you to begin today's lesson, how many of you have been told what to believe about the other houses by your upper year housemates?" Lilah asked, wondering just how quickly those beliefs were forced on the younger years, she was an odd case with Hagrid and the Weasleys' influence so thought it would be best to ask and address it in class with the lower years.

Half the hands in the room went up shakily, unsure of the line of questioning, while a further quarter of them rose straight away. Just as she had thought, only five out of the twenty person class had not been tainted by the older students, and it was only the first month of school. "Out of those that said yes, how many of you believe what you were told?" Another half of the ones who answered yes.

"Can anyone tell me why you believe them already when we have not been in school long?" Lilah asked in what she hoped was an encouraging tone.

"Well, the ones in the other houses don't treat us very nice, and it makes us believe the bad things older kids say." A daring Slytherin replied, too young to have the typical disdain for Defense teachers she was starting to break down in her upper level classes.

"What if I told you those same students that treat you badly were told the same things you were? If I have noticed one things about this school already is that bad habits are passed own through the houses until no one remembers how they started, and no one has a clue how to stop it. You should be different than the older students, give people a chance to prove themselves one way or another before you judge an entire house on the actions of a few." Lilah lectured, not liking the automatic hatred of these students.

"Well Professor Rayne, that may be true, but how does this connect to Defense?" The same Slytherin from earlier asked with a sneer that didn't look too intimidating on an eleven year old.

"How are you going to defend yourself if prejudice clouds your judgment on who to fight? You may be dueling an opponent that shares your beliefs but has a different color tie, when there is a wand pointed at your back by a member of your own house. You are young, no one will ask you to fight anytime soon, but in seven not too long years you will all be adults in the eyes of the law. There will come a time when you will have to chose who and what to fight for, even if the current war is over by then there will always be conflict happening. I am not only going to teach you how to Defend yourself, I am going to give you the tools you will need to make the right choices about who to fight for." Lilah hoped that wasn't too dramatic for first years, but if they were old enough for prejudice, then they were old enough for the truth in her mind.

Many students nodded their silent agreement to her words, and some looked a bit scare, but there was no terror on their faces and Lilah was reassured that she had chosen the right approach to the subject. "Alright, that is enough lecture for today, now have you all been practicing the wand movements for the shield charm we talked about last class?" That was another thing Lilah was doing, she concentrated on defensive magic with the younger years and offensive with fourth year and up. No one would be asking someone too young to fight if she had her way, because they wouldn't have anything to fight with. She was just giving them a way to protect themselves and those around them.

The day passed with her growing exhaustion, until by the last period of the day, fifth year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws, she was too tired to demonstrate any spells for them and assigned them group practice on what they had already learned. She was making her rounds throughout the class, seeing how everyone was handling themselves when a badly aimed spell shot her way, she could have dodged it Bellatrix taught her to ignore fatigue when it came to avoiding magic, but if she had than the student behind her would have been hit. She took the spell in her left shoulder and felt it burn through her robe and the first few layers of skin almost instantly, so at least she knew it was a mispronounced stinging hex that hit her.

The pain was intense for the first few seconds and her class was flipping out over injuring the teacher for the moments between the spell connecting and Lilah getting it together enough to take control of the situation. She bound her shoulder tightly with the basic healing magic she had been taught and was able to excuse the class, she didn't take a lot of points away after all it was an accident, but did take enough to encourage more practice in aiming their spells.

When she had finally cleared the students out of the way she headed down to the infirmary where she found Madame Pomfrey smoothing down the sheets on a freshly made cot. "Oh Leto, please come in, what happened?"

"A mispronounced stinging hex, student put too much power into it, it burned deeper than it should have. I think I may need to work on aim with my students a bit more, or at least a few lessons on magic safety." Lilah replied to the medi-witch saying the last but with a pale smile on her face. The pain was manageable but it was still a drain on her and she was already exhausted.

"Please have a seat on one of the beds and I will take a look." Pomfrey ordered as she removed the patch Lilah had cast on herself in the classroom. "Nice work on the bandaging, good thinking for the initial burn." She complimented before her face took on an air of sympathy as she saw the extent of the wound. "Must have been a powerful student did this, even mispronounced this is bad for a stinging hex."

"I thought so myself." Lilah responded weakly, starting to get light headed.

"Just hang on a few more moments and I will get you patched up." Pomfrey comforted the new professor in her pain. She moved quickly sterilizing and healing the wound with a combination of spells and potions. "That should feel better now, are you strong enough to get back to your rooms or do you want to rest here awhile.

Lilah truly wanted to be in her own rooms, but the way her head was swimming she was unsure whether she would make it, and told Pomfrey so. "I can let you use the floo in my office to return to your rooms, but with you dizzy I am not sure it is a good idea for you to be alone."

"I wont leave my bed unless it is an emergency. If I need medical attention I will send an house elf, but I just don't think I can sleep here." Lilah bargained.

Madame Pomfrey made a move of her head silently saying 'I don't know why I bother' before saying out loud, "You are as bad as Severus, but alright, as long as you stay in bed until you stop feeling dizzy and make sure you get the house elves to bring you something to eat. It will do you no good to recover on an empty stomach." She finally sanctioned as she helped Lilah make it to the fireplace in her office and the pot of floo powder on the mantle. Within seconds Lilah was gone was a heartfelt thank you still hanging on the air.


	27. Come Next Monday

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

**Come Next Monday**

Lilah was stuck in a staff meeting, no matter how much she enjoyed teaching, nothing could make these blasted things palatable. As the youngest Professor on staff she had little to no sway on important matters, so a staff meeting for her consisted of two hours non-stop bickering between her colleagues. Most of the grumbling were aimed at her father for the monstrously large amounts of house points he had a habit of taking, from every house that wasn't his own, every chance he got.

"Severus, I don't care what you say, taking 50 points from a first year student is just too much!" Minerva was yelling at Severus again, those two argued like cats and dogs when they were away from the prying eyes of students where they were supposed to be setting an example of unity.

"Oh, I seem to remember that you took 150 points away from your own house in a single night. All those students involved were first years too. A mistake in my lab could be just as fatal as facing a dragon, although it may not be as quick a death as the dragon would be. A harsh rebuke and swift consequences are necessary to make sure the students survive their years in my dungeon." Severus argued pointedly, knowing the only reason he was being called into question over this was because the student was a Gryffindor, no one was arguing the rights of the Slytherin student he himself had taken fifty points from for making the same mistake.

"That is not the same and you know it, you know you took too many points for such a minor infraction." She was interrupted by his snort.

"That minor infraction could have blown up the classroom and everyone in it. I was completely justified in my actions!" He ranted a bit at her trying to get his point through to her.

Lilah was distracted from the verbal tennis match she was watching by Professor Flitwik calling her name. "Leto how are feeling? I heard about your little mishap in class, on the mend I hope?"

She smiled at the tiny professor she had liked while she was still Harry. "Everything is just fine, you know Poppy can fix just about anything." She didn't mention the leftover soreness and fatigue that plagued her from the blood loss. It would mend itself soon enough.

"Good, wouldn't want you down for too long, I get no small amount of my students telling me how enjoyable your classes are for them. A far cry from previous years when I got numerous complaints." His bubbly voice coupled well with the pep talk and Leto couldn't help the blush that rose on her cheeks at that, and it was an honest reaction too.

"Really? I'm glad they are enjoying themselves. I hadn't realized I had made such an impression on them that they would make time to tell you about it." Leto admitted.

"You should give yourself more credit, you are good at what you do, and they don't have to make time to tell me." Here the other professor leaned closer as if sharing a secret. "I have a weekly meeting with the students in my house to check on their progress and mediate any disputes, it was during this time that your name came up with nothing but good will to be heard."

Lilah couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't done anything like that in Gryffindor, she could count the number of times McGonnagul was in their common room on one hand with fingers left over. "That seems like a very good idea. I can see how it would benefit your ravens."

"It does, Pomona does the same with her students too, and I do believe it might have something to do with why our houses are the quietest ones. When our students get into trouble, or have a problem, they know it will be addressed promptly so they can relax and not take retaliation into their own hands." This was said in a very quiet tone, that would never draw the attention of the two still bickering, and Lilah was reminded that Ravenclaw was the house of knowledge, it seems their head of house was a lot more then a funny little man that stood on a tottering stack of books.

"I never thought of it that way before." Lilah confessed, "But now that you say it, that does make a lot of sense. I will need to start paying more attention to the houses as a whole rather than a group. I can see now that it can leave me dangerously short-sighted."

"Don't be too harsh on yourself, just be willing to look, and believe what you see. All of us are guilty of not seeing the forest through the trees at times." The wise man told her, his high voice an odd accompaniment to the deep sentiments. She could see it wasn't just his house that could be overlooked, and underestimated.

"Thank you for the lesson, I sorely needed it, even if I didn't know it yet." Lilah thanked him in utter honesty, she hadn't had a lesson that profound since leaving her father behind to come back to Hogwarts. It may have been nothing more than a few whispered words in the back of the staff room, but it was invaluable advice.

"Never stop learning, you are never too old to learn or too young to teach, remember that." He was able to respond that much before their conversation had to be cut short, Severus and Minerva had finally calmed down enough for the next complaint to be brought forth. This gave Lilah time to think about what she had learned, and extract every bit of knowledge from the simple conversation that she could.


	28. How Can I Help You Say Goodbye

Rip Out The Wings

DaggersBloodPain

A/N This chapter is an explanation of why I abandoned my revising project and haven't truly updated a story since April, it is disguised as part of the story, but this really happened. I'm still getting over it, but I feel the desire to write again, I make no promises but I am going to try and finish my stories. I am using this story to write it out in because I felt the relationship between Lilah and Bellatrix could use a little more depth and this was a way to do that.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

How Can I Help You Say Goodbye

Lilah took Flitwik's words to heart and began looking at the students differently. She had been blinded by the prejudice she held towards many of them from when she was a student. Her focus had been on the Gryffindor and Slytherin students that she had grown up with, not the student body as a whole. She found once her attitude changed, she enjoyed teaching even more than before. Shaking off the last pieces of Harry that clung to her was a freeing experience, and she made a promise to herself to enjoy every moment of her freedom.

She allowed herself to get more involved in the children's lives, listening when they needed someone, mediating disputes between the different houses in her classes. The students came to trust her more, and a rise in the amount of effort put into their lessons made Lilah's heart warm. A fifteen minute conversation with the head of Ravenclaw had done more for her reputation than anything she could have thought of on her own. The help was appreciated.

It was only this greater interest in their general well being that let her see the trouble brewing in the back of her sixth year NEWT class. A letter had come for the girl moment before class started, the owl swooping in catching the interest of the others, now a few minutes later the young Ravenclaw was being hugged tightly by the two Hufflepuffs next to her. She was sitting silent as a stone, no sound, no cry, and no screaming that would have alerted Lilah to the problem if she hadn't been looking for it. There was no doubt Melinda had just received bad news and was in very deep shock.

Not wanting to draw more attention to Melinda, Lilah carried on with class, but while the students were working on the essay she had set them for the day she approached Melinda and asked her to stay after class. She wasn't sure the girl was ready to talk, but Lilah felt she had to try. She didn't like the dead look in the normally sunny girl's eyes.

When class ended she gently lead Melinda into her office, a quick call to a house elf later and they both had steaming cups of tea in front of them. "Melinda, what happened? You look like you could use someone to talk to." Lilah kept her voice soft and encouraging, wanting the girl to break through the shock and start dealing with whatever that letter had told her.

"She's gone." Melinda whispered, staring at the tea blindly, not making a move to take a drink.

"Who? Come on sweetie, I would like to help you if you'll let me." Lilah saw a quick flash of anger in Melinda's eyes, but it passed swiftly.

"No one can help me, I've lost her, she's not coming back." Her tone was both angry and deeply saddened.

Thinking she knew what Melinda was talking about Lilah asked, "Did someone just break up with you?"

That question seemed to break open the floodgates. Melinda started crying, at first a few small tears, then she completely broke down and started sobbing into her hands. "...I.. Shouldn't have.. let her go. I... wwass too sc..ared. She warned me. I...I thought, maybe.. she was exaggerating." Melinda's words got a little clearer after that, getting that out helping her spill the whole story in one long tirade. "She told me it wouldn't be easy. That it wouldn't work. I loved her too much, I didn't listen. We fell too deep too fast, I got scared. She told me if I ever left her she wouldn't survive it. I thought she was alright, that she had someone to take care of her. She was twice my age. I started thinking about my parents, and the home I have now. She doesn't live here to be with her I would be leaving everything behind. I loved her so much. It felt like I couldn't breathe when I was with her. She took my breath away. But I left. I couldn't hurt my family like that, they would never accept it. She had someone, they were supposed to take care for her, but this came. She did it, she really did it. She's gone. We were patching things up, I realized I loved her more than I was afraid, and I was getting ready to tell her I would like to try again. Now I will never know. They found her dead this morning. Poison."

Melinda's story had Lilah in tears, she felt for the girl, was in a similar relationship herself, but all she could think of to do was to come around her desk and hug the girl tightly. "What do you need? Is there someone I can contact to be with you now?"

"No, I didn't tell many people, those girls in class didn't know what happened, only that it was something bad. I don't know what to do, I can't think. I'm numb right now, I don't know whether to be angry or hurt, she's gone, she gave up, she left. I think I killed her." The last part was said in such a low whisper Lilah barely heard it, but it just made her hug Melinda tighter.

"Listen to me now, you did not kill her. You did what you had to do, you were trying to recover what you had, it's natural to get scared, to get worried, but you told me yourself you were getting over that fear. It was her choice that led to her death, not yours. It sounds like she was already hurting and looking for a way out, there is no way of knowing that this wouldn't have happened had you stayed. Promise me you won't follow her example, people here love you and want you to live and be happy. If you need someone to talk to you can come to me. I can set you up with a mind-healer if that is what you would prefer." Lilah spoke directly, with feeling and emotion, Melinda was teetering on the edge. Though Lilah thought she would feel the same if something happened to Bellatrix, not to mention if that something could be taken as being Lilah's fault.

Melinda collapsed into her arms without a response, sobbing her heart out, allowing her Professor to comfort her. Lilah held onto her, and wished with all her heart that Bellatrix was there with her, to hold her and comfort her, she needed the reassurance after hearing the heartbreaking story from her student.

XXXXXX I posted the full story on my profile in non-fiction format if you want to know more XXXX


	29. Forever May Not Be Long Enough

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

**Forever May Not Be Long Enough**

Lilah needed to see her lover so badly she made plans to return to the manor for awhile during the holiday break. Maybe even a few months as she still had the time turner and could use all the training she could get. Bellatrix could be with her almost constantly in real time just as they had done before Lilah had gone to teach at Hogwarts.

Other than Bellatrix she had a reason for going back to the manor for more training, as much as she loved teaching at Hogwarts, the constant strain of hiding who she was had been wearing on her. Harry Potter was dead, the cause of which was still being debated amongst the students, but for Lilah it wasn't her past as Harry she was having trouble hiding. No, that person was well and truly gone, it was her position as her father's heir that she was having trouble hiding.

Lilah had chosen the dark side, had been trained to fight, had been honed to be the best weapon and leader the Dark side could hope for, yet she was stuck babysitting a barmy old man with a god complex. With every stride Leto made with her students, Dumbledore made another speech or showed enough favoritism to make Lilah want to puke, he was alienating the borderline students with his stunts but didn't seem to care. Dumbledore was causing just as many students to run to the Dark as he was to the Light, but Lilah still felt unclean being so close to the lunatic.

Lilah wanted to fight, to go on the raids that gave her side its reputation, if she was to earn the Death Eaters respect by the time her father was ready to step down she would need to prove herself on the battlefield. Amongst each other where the Dark needed every fighter it could get was not a realistic show of strength. With the time turner she could participate in the raids and simply turn back time once it was over to make it appear she had never left the castle. Her father had been concerned about doing that, as she had already spent quite a bit of time under its influence he wanted to avoid unnecessary usage. Lilah felt it was the opposite really, she had already spent four years with it and it hadn't hurt her another few months with it shouldn't cause too many problems.

That had been an interesting conversation on one of the rare occasions she got to speak with her dad without the fear of being overheard.

"I think you could benefit from more training yes, but why do you want to go on raids? When this all started you seemed like you would prefer to stay as far away from that side of the war as possible, staying at Hogwarts allows you to do that." Severus had objected worried for his daughter, he would not taint her hands unless she was completely sure about this and had thought over every detail.

"When this all started I was sixteen years old, angry, and still shadowed by abuse. Dad, Sire, I'm not the same person I was then. To you a year has passed, for me it has been so much longer. I have healed more than I ever thought I would, I have had more time to think and evaluate what I have learned about the war. I agree with father magic needs to be protected, I even have a few ideas on how to help that after the war is won in our favor.

"Nothing is going to change until we have control over all the witches and wizards, too much longer and the blood lines will be too sickly to pass on the ability to use our magic. Dark only marries Dark, and Light only marries Light, it is effectively cutting our genetic pool in half. If we could only blend the two sides together we would have enough diversity to keep from inbreeding, and as more muggleborns are found that will be a further infusion of fresh blood. I have started with the students, trying to get them to see the other houses as more than just the propaganda spouted about them. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are the most accepting of this, but the Slytherins and the Gryffindors are still incredibly tense around each other. I have outlawed all non-sanctioned fights in my classroom though so I have cut down on the number of infirmary visits from my students.

"I want to go on the raids because if I fight it will be that much sooner that we can start making the serious changes that come next. If I have to kill to get there so be it, better than sitting around waiting for someone else to finish it." Lilah figured she would have better luck convincing her dad she had thought this through if she told him the whole truth.

Severus thought about what his daughter told him, it did make sense. She had taken what they had taught her and was using it to set up the foundations for the true goal of the Dark side. That was very intelligent thinking on her part. However he was still concerned about her, "I agree with what you are doing with the students, but remember if you go on raids you will have an even greater chance of being discovered, if one of your students is from a family that we attack it will undo all the work you have done. Could you take that risk?"

To her credit, Lilah took a moment to think instead of snapping back an instant reply, "I think the risk of discovery is worth it when compared to how much good I could do if I was allowed to fight alongside Father. If I can pull off using the Time Turner properly it may even relieve some of the suspicion on me, after all how could I be the heir of Voldemort if I was at the castle while she was on raids? Yes it would be dangerous, but no more so than what you do."

"That was different, I didn't throw myself into this position deliberately. I made the best of what choices I made, but I can't honestly tell you I don't regret it. I should have stood by him until the end, not allowed myself to be lured away by lies in the first place, than you may not have been in this position either because I could have been there to protect you. He didn't trust me, and he had every right not to, but it cost us our daughter.

"This choice would make you a target for both sides, whether they know you are playing Leto or not. Our followers are going to test you, will push you to your limits to see how long it takes you to break, any one of them could take a shot at killing you to have a chance at bring named heir in your place. The Light side will focus on taking you out if they catch us in a raid, you would be the second highest person on their kill lists, only your father outshines you. It is basic logic, if you want to cripple your opponent take out the leader and the person trained to replace them. Your opponent may just self destruct with the inner war that would happen trying to replace the lost leader or heir.

"There is so many ways we could lose you again in this war, I just want you safe." He tried to impress upon her how deeply she was needed alive and healthy, his lover could not handle losing her again, it would mean the end of his sanity. Permanently.

Lilah's intensely colored eyes seemed to soften at that, "Dad, I know how much it would mean to you two if it were possible to keep me cloistered away from people until all danger is over, but that simply isn't going to happen. I am needed in the fight. You have trained me yourself, father and Bellatrix have taught me how to kill and defend. I can do this. It is dangerous and I know it, but it is going to be dangerous whatever choice I make, even staying here at Hogwarts teaching as Leto is a risk. I want to help. I don't need to be on every raid just the high profile ones that will get attention. Let the Light side know there is a new player, maybe Dumbledore will believe the Heir in the papers is what Harry turned into, just one more thing keeping my identity separate from him."

Severus seemed to lose some of the bite to his voice, but he still protested, "What if they get a good picture of you? Your eyes are unusual someone may notice."

Lilah smiled a bit, this was one thing she had already thought of, "Dumbledore believes I am the child of Tom Riddle and that I don't know it. If that is true, than it wouldn't be odd that I have similar eyes to my sister that he sees splashed in the headlines. I can get more information on him if he thinks the meetings are to see how much I know."

"I am not going to win this argument am I?" Severus knew better than to keep going after she got that stubborn look in her eye, it was the same one his lover got when he was on a mission. No one could dissuade him once he had his mind set on something and his daughter was following in his footsteps.

"No you are not," She agreed, "All you can do is train me and help me get prepared for facing this head on. I will do whatever I have to in order to finish this war quickly." The sooner this was over the sooner she could be back in Bellatrix's arms, doing nothing but loving her until the end of forever.

Lilah knew better than to tell Severus that she fully intended on playing up the shocked sister act, her goal was an invitation into the Order, from there she could dismantle Dumbledore's support from the inside out. It wouldn't take much, the Order was blind and weak, it would crumble under her influence. When that was through it would be time to make the last strike to the Light side. It would be quick and brutal, but the end would come in time to save the magic that Lilah Riddle had grown to love.


	30. Turn Me On

**Rip Out The Wings**

**DaggersBloodPain**

A/N There is a physical yuri/femslash scene in this chapter, I didn't get extremely graphic, but I didn't pull punches either. Give it a try, if its too much just skip over it.

**Chapter Thirty**

**Turn Me On  
**

The holiday break finally arrived, and it was all Lilah could do to remember her training and carry herself like the refined pureblood she was playing, when all she really wanted to do was bounce up and down in her seat fidgeting like a schoolgirl. A few more hours and she would be done with the charade and would be able to spend weeks with her lover and family. The tricky part would be getting to the manor without being followed or tracked, but with her training she knew a good deal about hiding her movements, and her father had planned a raid for the day of the train ride back to London for the students, sufficiently distracting Dumbledore.

Lilah would be in the raid. It hadn't happened for her in this time line yet, but she knew she would be briefed when she got home and sent back to the time of departure. It would be her first public appearance as Lilah Riddle and not Leto Rayne. She was a tad nervous, but far more excited to be finally doing something to help the cause than she was nervous about the battle.

The students had to leave before the staff was allowed to go their own way for the break. Those few hours felt like the longest of her life, well with the possible exception of waiting in her dad's office for him to come back after his first meeting with her father after the potions came off. She was part of the group of Professors assigned to herding the departing students out of the castle and towards Hogsmeade Station.

Melinda was in the last group to be gently pushed out the door, before Lilah realized what was happening the girl had thrown her arms around Lilah and hugged her, "Thank you so much Professor Rayne, you helped me a lot. I think I am going to talk to my family about her over the break, I owe it to her memory to not hide her away like I am ashamed of her."

Lilah pulled out of the hug, but put a finger under Melinda's chin and lifted her head so she was looking her in the eye, "I think that would be a good idea. Share the good memories too, don't dwell on the bad. When you loose someone that important you should celebrate their life, not mourn their death." Lilah had learned that lesson repeatedly in her life as Harry.

"I'll try, it still hurts, but I understand what you are saying," Melinda replied unsurely, pulling her chin out of Lilah's letting her look down at the ground again.

Lilah smiled softly, "Oh honey, it will hurt for awhile, but try what I said. It can make the hurt easier to bear if you have something to smile about. Now off you go or you will miss the train," Lilah shooed the girl away.

Melinda nodded and smiled shyly before walking away, a wave of goodbye thrown back to her Defense Professor. Lilah felt her own smile return at that, there was some perks to teaching, she wouldn't mind coming back to this life once the war was finally over. At least until her Father stepped down and she was needed to lead the Dark.

"That was well handled. What happened to her?" Professor Flitwik had come up behind Lilah as she watched Melinda and the others trail down to the carriages that would take them to the station.

"Something bad, but personal, she is dealing with it extremely well for someone her age," Lilah replied softly.

Flitwik nodded, "I knew something was wrong with her, I keep an eye on my students, but she wouldn't tell me about it. She must trust you a lot to share something that deeply secret."

Lilah shook her head, "No, I think it was circumstances that led her to tell me, the bad news she received came while she was in my class. She was crying, I couldn't not try to help." She admitted.

"She still didn't have to say anything, but I'm glad you were there for her when I couldn't be. Thank you." He responded gratefully.

"It wasn't a problem, I like helping where I can," And she wasn't lying with that, she enjoyed helping the girl.

"Well you have my gratitude, anyway, I heard you would be leaving for the holiday, enjoy your time away." Flitwik spoke honestly.

"You have a nice break as well," Lilah replied with a smile, before excusing herself back to her quarters where she could pack her things and leave from her personal floo. The Professors each had a floo in their quarters, but weren't permitted to use it unless on break or during emergencies.

She grabbed her bag that was mostly for show as she had four years worth of belongings at the manor, and went to the floo. They had already arranged a place for her to floo to, a Dark family that kept their ties quiet. She would floo to their home first before heading to the manor, none of them put it past Dumbledore to monitor all floo travel out of the castle, or at least from Leto as he probably didn't fully trust her. If he questioned the family she was flooing to for any reason, they would just tell the truth, they were an old family friend that offered Leto a place to stay with them for the holiday.

If she had the timing right, the raid should be starting right about now, before she ever went near her fireplace. Lilah Riddle and Leto Rayne were two different people, after all how could she be in two places at once? Dumbledore knew of Time Turners of course, but no one knew for how long a person could use one without side effects, and very few would think the risk worth it.

The masses were not a paranoid Dark Lord that was trying to get his daughter trained as quickly as possible. The worse consequence was seeing yourself and going mad, but the thing about that situation is as long as you were aware of the Time Turner you would be fine, so it was only in the first few trips back in time that a person was truly in danger. Unless they had a significantly weak mind, which Leto had thrown off the Imperious curse when she was fourteen, and that had been before the potions wore off. She was in very little danger.

Feeling she was as safe as she could be, she threw a handful of the powder into the fire and called out the name of the manor they were using as camouflage. As expected she was greeted with a bow, and an offer of another pot of floo powder. No pleasantries were exchanged as she called out Riddle manor and disappeared.

She slid smoothly out of the fire place in the receiving room and into Bellatrix' arms before her feet had touched the ground it seemed like. Holding on tightly to the older woman they stayed like that for as long as they dared, only parting at a delicate cough given to get their attention.

Pulling away reluctantly, Lilah turned to see Narcissa standing next to her sister. "Sorry, Narcissa, it's been awhile," She apologized without blushing, she was happy to be home and not afraid to show it.

Narcissa shook her head slowly, "I had hoped being in that castle hadn't driven out all the manners I drilled into you, but it appears my fears were well founded." If Lilah didn't know her so well she wouldn't have caught the teasing lilt in her voice, she wasn't mad at her.

Lilah smiled a bit ruefully, "I haven't forgotten, but I may need some polishing." She confessed, "I admit being around hundreds of teenagers does tend to relax the manners, Merlin knows they don't use them."

"Careful now Lilah, you are starting to sound almost as cynical as me," Bellatrix teased, whispering in her ear, her closeness making goose bumps rise on Lilah's skin.

"I am here to warn you two that the raid will be over in about four hours, your Father will be at your rooms afterwards to prepare you and let you know the specifics about when to arrive at the meeting hall to join our forces." Narcissa spoke quickly, before anything too heated could happen between them, it had been a long time since they saw each other and Narcissa had little doubt what was on their minds.

It was Bellatrix who responded, "Message received, now excuse us, we have business to attend to." She replied, pulling an unresisting Lilah out of the receiving room and towards Lilah's bedroom.

"Four hours, plenty of time," Lilah said as they were out of earshot from Narcissa.

"Could be longer if we start in my room, then turn back a few hours and head to yours," Bellatrix pointed out.

Lilah's smile was beautiful, "Lead the way."

Once the appropriate room was reached Lilah wasted no time pressing Bellatrix against the wall, smashing their lips together, fisting her hands in her long black hair she pulled the older woman towards her body trying to get as close as possible after being apart for so long.

Bellatrix' nails dug in to her shoulders, the possessive grip spurring Lilah on. Dropping her slim hands off her hair she arrived at the buttons on the back of her lover's dress. Never breaking the kiss she undid the offending closures, feeling Bellatrix now working to remove her teaching robes.

Fabric pooled on the ground beneath their feet, skin on skin contact driving them crazy already. Lilah lifted her startled love into her arms and carried her over to set her on the bed, glad for both her strength and Bellatrix' slender form allowing the move. Undergarments were the next to be removed, and soon nude flesh met nude flesh.

Lilah stared down at alabaster skin, black hair, deep grey eyes, and lips red from their kissing. Bellatrix was stunningly beautiful like this, tousled hair and undone expression evoking every protective and caring instinct in Lilah's body. "I missed you so much, I love you." Lilah leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"I missed you, and I love you too," Bellatrix replied just as quietly, kissing her again, gently this time full of promise and love.

Lilah moved on top of Bellatrix, covering the older woman from view, she wrapped her arms around Bellatrix' shoulders pulling her up off the bed to deepen the kiss. Bellatrix traced her back and sides with her hands, teasing the sensitive skin with her nails, not hard, just enough to cause Lilah to shudder and moan lightly.

Lilah dropped kisses along Bellatrix' jaw, before moving down the column of her throat, ending her journey to nibble lightly at the skin over her collarbone, pulling a gasp of pleasure from her lover. Lilah smiled even as she continued to nibble gently, not enough to mark the skin, just enough to cause pleasure. Bellatrix' unblemished skin was a temple Lilah didn't want to desecrate with bruises.

Lilah nudged her lover's legs apart, settling one of her own between them, straddling the older woman's thigh, while trailing kisses along her shuddering torso and abdomen. She rocked forward, her muscled thigh causing friction against Bellatrix' moist core, the pressure against her own heated center sending shocks of pleasure threw her. She rocked forwards again, her arms going around Bellatrix' shoulders again, mouths clashing together to muffle the sounds of pleasure, Bellatrix rose off the pillows meeting the younger woman's challenge.

As their tongues dueled, and their arms held each other tight, Bellatrix bent her leg a bit, causing even more friction for Lilah, the rocking increased in speed. It had been far too long a time spent apart for them to hold out long. Stars burst across their eyes, and pleasure coiled in their bellies, an explosion of fireworks had them both crying out, the sound swallowed in their fierce kiss.

That was the first of many times together that first reunion. Many pleasurable hours passed, neither woman taking notice of the time, or anything but each other. They spoke softly between turns, whispers and promises, and dreams, it didn't matter what was said, only that they were together again.

It was a good thing Lilah had the Time Turner, by the time the two of them were satisfied, she had to use it if she wanted a chance of making it to her rooms in time to greet her father. She made it with fifteen minutes to spare, only enough time to brush the tangles out of her hair, but there was nothing she could do about her bruised lips or thoroughly ravished expression.

Lord Voldemort walked into his daughter's room, took one look at her, and simply shook his head, "I should have known that would happen. Listen the raid turned out well, and you weren't caught. In your wardrobe is the clothing you should wear, get yourself ready and be waiting outside the Meeting Hall by eleven o'clock. Bellatrix was with us during the raid, so I assume you will be bringing her back to greet you on your first arrival. Hide out in the library once you do that to give real time a chance to catch up with you. Can I go collect you now or have you used the Time Turner already today?" He laid out the plan before ending with a question.

"We used the Time Turner," She did blush then, talking to her father was a lot different from just Narcissa and Bellatrix, "If you want to collect me when there isn't another me around, you have to wait about three more hours. Or just avoid Bellatrix' room."

"I think it will be safe since you know exactly where you were." Voldemort didn't bother to comment on the sheer amount of time the two woman had spent together, there were some things a father just shouldn't know about his daughter.

He left his daughter to her own devices. She went over to her wardrobe, opening it to find a prominently displayed blood red dress with a black cloak, a pair of easy to maneuver in heels, and a glittering silver half mask. She would be highly visible, her gender obvious, and her position unquestionable in this outfit. Today she would be the Dark Heir, and every person in the wizarding world would know it by the time the evening profit came out.

A/N2 There is new information as well as a new poll in my profile, if you have a few moments please check it out.


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